The Trump administration unveiled proposed tariffs of at least 10% on 60 countries Tuesday night, invoking a 1974 trade law to rebuild the president’s tariff framework months after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier duties.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office announced the action after conducting investigations into those trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The tariffs target countries that have allegedly “failed to impose and effectively enforce” rules prohibiting imports of goods made with forced labor. They must still clear a public comment period before taking effect.
Most of the 60 nations face a 12.5% proposed rate, including China, Japan, South Korea and Brazil. A lower 10% rate applies to 16 partners — among them the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan and Argentina — that Greer’s office says have taken some steps or made commitments to address forced labor in their supply chains.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable,” Greer said in a statement Tuesday. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field. We will no longer tolerate this disparity.”
Certain goods are exempt from the new duties, including beef, tomatoes and coffee. The USTR’s office said it is also weighing a rule that would allow some textiles into the United States at a reduced tariff rate if the exporting country imports an equal quantity of American textiles.
The announcement marks the administration’s latest attempt to reconstruct a global tariff architecture after a series of legal setbacks. The Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 that Mr. Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs exceeded the authority granted under the emergency powers statute he had invoked. A federal trade court dealt another blow last month, ruling that separate 10% tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the same 1974 act were also invalid.
The Section 301 process gives the government authority to investigate unfair trade practices and impose tariffs or other restrictions. USTR’s office argued that foreign countries, unlike the United States, largely lack strong prohibitions on goods produced using forced labor, putting American firms at a competitive disadvantage.
Greer’s office launched separate Section 301 investigations in March into 16 countries for “structural excess capacity” — producing more goods than domestic markets can absorb. Those investigations are ongoing.
