Trump rehabilitates trade war tools with new tariffs to affect 60 countries

US President Donald Trump has launched the biggest economic move to rebuild the tariff wall, just months after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariffs, with his administration proposing new tariffs of at least 10% on imports from 60 trading partners, based on an extensive investigation into their handling of goods produced using "forced labor".

The proposed tariffs will be divided into two categories depending on the results of the investigation, with Washington imposing a 10% tariff on imports from Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

According to U.S. data, products from other major economies — including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland — will be subject to higher tariffs of 12.5 percent.

Legal Track and Public Review Schedule

The U.S. Trade Representative's office set July 6 as a deadline to receive written comments from companies and business partners, with public hearings to begin the following day.

The office confirmed that the fees will not come into effect immediately, but will be subject to a public review period that may lead to the adjustment of their percentages before they are finally approved and paired with the end of the temporary fees at the end of July.

The U.S. investigation was based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same legal path that the administration is currently taking to prepare another package of fees related to the treatment of its partners' "manufacturing surplus."

U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said in a statement that Washington will no longer tolerate the inequality that forces American workers to compete in an unequal global arena, noting that countries that do not implement a de facto ban on imports of forced labor will be punished with higher tariff brackets.

Specific Exceptions and List of Targeted Goods

The US administration included proposals to exclude a number of basic consumer and food commodities from the new tariff guillotine, which included beef, tomatoes, bananas, coffee, and orange juice, as well as some fuels, chemicals, and minerals that are already subject to separate protection duties, with the aim of reducing the direct impact on the livelihood of American citizens.

The Trade Representative's Office classified 34 key commodities as linked to supply chains that include inputs produced by forced labor, including cotton used in the manufacture of clothing, rare metals vital for the production of solar panels, palm oil, and some fish products, putting these vital sectors in the eye of the next trade storm.

International reactions condemn

In the context of initial reactions to these tariffs, Beijing rejected the U.S. accusations in full, criticizing Washington's repeated resort to protectionist policies.

A government official in Tokyo confirmed that Japan is in close contact with the US administration to discuss the repercussions of the decision on shared supply chains, while the European Union described the proposed tariffs as "unjustified" and stressed its adherence to the terms of the agreements.

 Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Heinrich Foundation, warned of the consequences of the US move, stressing that international partners will be deeply displeased by the decision.

Elmes added that with this move, Washington has opened the door wide to a violent and uncontrolled wave of tariff and non-tariff counter-tariff adjustments, which could plunge the global economy into a vicious circle of depression.

Inflation Tunnel

The global economy is facing a critical test, and coincides with the continuation of the sharp armed conflict and military escalation in the Middle East between Washington and Tehran, which has already led to jumps in energy prices and fueled global inflation fears, increasing pressure on the purchasing power of American voters just five months before the midterm congressional elections scheduled for next October.

The current U.S. tariff initiative is a political attempt by the Trump administration to find a more robust legislative and executive basis for tariffs, after the administration's shock in February when the Supreme Court struck down tariffs under the "economic emergency powers."

The move also tests the ability of trading partners to continue the policy of "restraint" they adopted last year, as Washington imposed tariffs of 15% on most European imports, including cars, and 50% on steel and aluminum, preferring to negotiate rather than direct trade retaliation.