Trump Relaunches Global Trade War

President Donald Trump opened a new front in his global trade war Friday when the administration announced a new wave of tariffs targeting 60 U.S. trading partners, including China, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and India.

As a temporary 10 percent tariff expired at midnight, the United States replaced it with new duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). (RELATED: How US Leaders’ Attempts To Dominate The World Are Weakening One Of Our Greatest Advantages)

China, Taiwan, Australia, and the European Union (EU) — which is America’s largest trading partner — now face the higher 12.5 percent tariff, while Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and India face the 10 percent tariff.

The new duties include exemptions for certain products, including oil, gas and fertilizer, as well as goods qualifying for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

USTR says the tariffs target countries that have failed to impose or effectively enforce bans on imports produced with forced labor.

“President Trump is tackling modern-day slavery at its source by requiring our trading partners to enact and enforce import bans to ensure products made by workers under such horrifying conditions are no longer traded in global commerce,” USTR said.

“Trading partners that have made commitments to adopt, and effectively enforce, forced labor import prohibitions will have a 10 percent tariff, and trading partners that have failed to adopt a forced labor import prohibition will have a 12.5 percent tariff rate,” USTR continued.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, forcing the administration to find new tools to impose duties. Following the ruling, Trump imposed a temporary 10 percent tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which limits such duties to 150 days.

Two small businesses, Burlap & Barrel and Collective Horology, filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration challenging the latest tariffs. They are represented by Liberty Justice Center, the same organization that successfully challenged the “Liberation Day” tariffs in 2025. (RELATED: Trump Threatens Canada With Tariffs Over Wildfire Smoke)

The complaint states that USTR “acted arbitrarily and capriciously by imposing near-uniform tariffs across 60 materially different economies without a reasoned, record-based explanation for how the tariffs would address the practices USTR identified,” according to NBC News.

“The case does not dispute that governments should combat forced labor,” the group said. “It challenges USTR’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs without satisfying Section 301’s country-specific findings and remedial requirements.”