US Imposes New Section 301 Tariffs on 60 Nations as Temporary Global Duties Expire

The United States is launching a fresh wave of trade levies on 60 international trading partners, imposing duties ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The new measures take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, taking force precisely as a temporary global tariff authorization lapses.

Under the statutory action announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, major U.S. commercial partners including Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom will face a 10 percent duty on inbound shipments. Higher duties of 12.5 percent will apply to goods originating from Taiwan and the 27-nation European Union.

To protect key domestic manufacturing supply chains, Washington has carved out several core commodities from the new levies. Vital imports such as crude oil, natural gas, agricultural fertilizers, and selected food products remain exempt. Goods already covered under separate national security levies pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962—including steel, aluminum, copper, and passenger vehicles—will also not be subject to the additional duties.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer framed the regulatory push around international labor standards, arguing that trading partners must match American bans on goods manufactured through forced labor. Greer noted that Washington has strictly enforced statutory forced labor prohibitions for nearly a century, asserting that weak enforcement overseas leaves American firms at an unfair market disadvantage.

The administrative shift follows intense judicial scrutiny over executive trade authority. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s broader emergency-based reciprocal tariffs, which had imposed rates between 10 and 50 percent. In response to the court ruling, the administration instituted a short-term 10 percent tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974—a rarely utilized balance-of-payments provision capped at 150 days—which expires at midnight Thursday.

A senior administration official noted that while the new Section 301 levies seamlessly align with the expiration of the Section 122 duties, they serve as a distinct statutory action rather than a direct administrative extension.

The rollout represents part of a broader acceleration in U.S. trade policy this week. On Monday, Washington announced separate 50 percent duties on selected Canadian industrial goods, apparel, synthetic materials, and food products under the Tariff Act of 1930, set to take effect August 19. Canadian officials immediately denounced the move, characterizing the 50 percent levies as a direct violation of existing cross-border trade commitments under North American commercial treaties.

In a related policy move, the White House also revealed a phased tariff mechanism targeting imported generic pharmaceuticals. Under that regulatory framework, generic drug imports will remain duty-free for two years before triggering escalating tariffs designed to incentivize pharmaceutical companies to build domestic production capacity.