The United States has announced the imposition of trade tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 key trading partners, reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the office of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 for countries' failure to enforce a ban on imports of goods made with forced labor. Greer is "taking final steps... imposing tariffs on 60 countries for their failure to enact and effectively enforce a ban on importing goods produced using forced labor."
A minimum rate of 10% applies to 17 countries that have already enacted such a ban, including the United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Mexico. For certain goods from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland that are not exempt, the rate will be 10% or 12.5% less the applicable most-favored-nation rates. The maximum baseline rate will increase by 2.5 percentage points to 12.5% for the remaining investigation participants that have not complied with Washington's conditions.
These tariffs replace the temporary global 10% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump's administration in February.