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Sixty nations are on the list, but the tariffs vary.
Do you remember “Liberation Day”? April 2, 2025?
You know, the day Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs targeting basically every country in the world.
It sent global markets into turmoil, but after months of uncertainty over the legality of the sweeping tariffs, the US Supreme Court deemed them illegal, finding that Trump could not use the cited law to impose them.
Since then, the US has begun paying back billions of dollars to companies and businesses, but Trump is not done with tariffs.
In fact, his administration has just proposed a new round of tariffs that would target a number of traditional allies.
A new trade barrier
According to the BBC and CBS News, the US government rolled out new tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent on dozens of countries on Tuesday.
The penalties target 60 global trading partners. The vast list includes allies such as the UK, the EU, Canada, and Japan, which account for nearly all products sold to American buyers.
This aggressive move comes amid mounting White House concerns over international labor standards. The US Trade Department launched an investigation into these partners back in March.
On Tuesday, officials announced that all 60 economies had failed to successfully ban or block goods made with forced labor.
The Trump trade revival
This marks the second time President Donald Trump has pushed for sweeping import taxes since suffering a major setback at the US Supreme Court.
Trump blasted that decision at the time, calling the ruling terrible and labeling the justices who opposed him fools. The court had ruled that his earlier Liberation Day levies were completely unlawful.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer strongly defended the strategy in a statement, saying that the current system “creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field.”
Global market shockwaves
The targeted countries face different penalty levels based on their domestic laws.
A 10 percent tariff will hit 16 specific economies that have partial bans, including the UK and Mexico.
A higher 12.5 percent tax will apply to countries with no restrictions, such as China and India.
Financial experts warn that these sweeping measures will quickly hit ordinary consumers. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, noted that the decision will reopen raw trade wounds during a global energy crunch.
“It will be seen as a way of forcing through Trump’s agenda through another door,” Streeter said, according to City AM.
She pointed out that the measure’s broad scope affects regions such as the European Union, which already has strict anti-slavery protections.
Sources: US Trade Department, International Labour Organisation, Wealth Club, the BBC, City AM, CBS News
