According to a report on July 24, just hours before a temporary 10% tariff was about to expire, the U.S. announced late Thursday a new round of tariffs targeting 60 countries and regions, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, and European Union members.
The new tariff rates range from 10% to 12.5%, stemming from a Section 301 investigation under the Trade Act of 1974 that focused on alleged forced labor practices. Washington argued that existing measures had failed to prevent products made with forced labor from entering supply chains.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer boasted in a statement: “Today’s actions will begin to correct practices that violate human rights and distort trade, thereby improving the well-being of workers around the world.”
According to the report, China will face a 12.5% tariff rate; Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the EU will be hit with duties between 10% and 12.5%. Canada, Mexico, India, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom will see an additional 10% tariff on top of existing U.S. import duties.
Experts say the “forced labor” allegations are just a pretext for raising tariffs and part of President Trump’s “America First” overall trade agenda.
Another investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is still ongoing, targeting what the U.S. calls “industrial overcapacity” in 16 economies, including mainland China, Taiwan, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the EU, and several Southeast Asian nations.
Thursday’s move marks one of the largest tariff actions since the “Liberation Day” in April 2025, when the Trump administration slapped global tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, sparking market panic.
However, this time around, the new tariffs are unlikely to cause a similar shock, as Trump’s repeated announcements and backtracking have dulled the impact of his policies.
The announcement from the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) came after several months of relative calm in U.S. trade policy, giving industries a rare breather. This suggests Trump is returning to his usual playbook.
“The real cost isn’t the rate—it’s the uncertainty,” said Ashley Kalyn, an international trade consultant at Peacock Tariff Consulting.
“Every time one legal basis gets struck down by a court, the government switches to another one.”
Analysts say the Trump administration used the forced “breather” period to refine various alternatives, allowing the self-proclaimed “tariff man” to once again wield import duties at will, free from investigation procedures or review mechanisms, maximizing pressure and retaliation.
In February this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional, prompting the administration to look for new legal tools.
Thursday’s notice came just hours before the 10% blanket tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 was set to expire. That tariff was introduced in February this year after the court ruling.
In recent days, the U.S. has rolled out a series of new trade measures, including fresh tariffs on imports from Brazil and Canada.
After an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 targeting so-called “unfair trade practices,” the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on about one-third of Brazilian imports, which took effect on Wednesday.
Despite the U.S. maintaining a long-term trade surplus with Brazil, the country still became a target of U.S. tariffs.
In another measure announced Monday, Trump cited Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, accusing the Canadian government of “trade discrimination” against multiple U.S. industries, and declared a 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods within 30 days. This further demonstrates his attempt to bypass existing limits and precedents.
This obscure trade enforcement clause from 1930, born during the height of protectionism in the Great Depression, has never been used before. In theory, it gives Trump broader, faster, and less restricted tariff powers than almost any other trade law.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson previously stated that China consistently opposes all forms of unilateral tariff measures. Tariff wars and trade wars serve no one’s interests, and economic and trade issues should be resolved through dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. There is no so-called “forced labor” in China, and China opposes political manipulation under this pretext.
Additionally, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson has pointed out that the U.S. has still not ratified the 1930 Forced Labour Convention, refusing to be bound by international rules, yet has long manipulated the “forced labor” issue. This time, the U.S. launched a Section 301 investigation against China and other economies, attempting to build trade barriers, which is highly unilateral, arbitrary, and discriminatory—a typical protectionist act.
The World Trade Organization’s expert panel has already ruled that the U.S. Section 301 tariffs on China violate WTO rules. The U.S. is once again abusing the Section 301 investigation process, placing domestic law above international rules, which is a double mistake that severely undermines the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains and seriously disrupts the international trade order.