By David Lawder

The Trump administration will impose new tariffs of 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent on goods from 60 trading partners, including Australia, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans, just as a temporary ‌10 per cent global tariff expires.

The move is the White House’s latest effort to restore President Donald Trump’s campaign vision of a near-global tariff after the Supreme Court in February struck down his “reciprocal” duties of 10 to 50 per cent imposed ‌lin 2025 under a national emergencies law to try to shrink the US trade deficit.

The new tariffs, announced on Thursday in a Federal Register notice, will cover 99.4 per cent of US imports, but include numerous product exemptions, such as oil and gas, fertiliser and certain food items.

Imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the new duties allow the administration to maintain a tariff floor on virtually all US imports despite the Supreme Court setback. The tariffs are also likely to face less legal risk than those struck down in February, as Section 301 has survived prior court challenges.

Trump responded to the February Supreme Court ruling by imposing a temporary ‌10 per cent tariff for 150 days ‌that expires on Friday. The new duties will then take effect immediately.

“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

“Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”

Greer has previously pledged that for countries that have reached trade deals with Washington that have capped US tariff rates, the new forced labour duties would not push them above those caps. The deals include anti-forced labour provisions.

Under the final determination, the US will impose a 10 per cent duty on goods ⁠of Argentina, Bangladesh, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and ‌Tobago. The European Union, Taiwan, ​Japan, South Korea and Switzerland were assigned rates that, combined with pre-existing most-favoured-nation tariff rates, would total 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent.  The other 38 countries, including China, were assigned a 12.5 per cent rate.

“As expected, the ​forced labour tariffs largely ‌replicate current tariff levels as negotiated in various reciprocal trade agreements, and replace the 10 per cent tariffs under Section 122 that expire on Friday,” said Tim Brightbill, a trade law partner with Wiley Rein in ​Washington.

A senior Trump administration official disputed suggestions that the forced labour tariffs were simply a direct replacement for the expiring levies despite the timing, similar duty rates and vast coverage of nearly all US imports.

The official said the US has stronger import bans on goods made with forced labour and enforces them more rigidly than any other country, giving rivals an unfair trading advantage over the ​US Both ​Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been calling for the eradication of forced labour from ​global supply chains, “so we’re really responding to that call,” the official said.

The official added that Trump would “always ‌use the tools at his disposal to achieve his trade policy objectives, and that includes tariffs.”

Many goods will be exempted from the duties, including oil and gas, fertiliser, certain foodstuffs and goods that are already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs, such as autos, steel, aluminium and copper, the official said.