Trump Drops New Tariff Bomb, India Among 60 Nations Hit by Double-Digit Levies

This move follows a Supreme Court ruling that blocked broader tariff policies. The tariffs, impacting goods from 60 partners, are tied to concerns over forced labor practices.

President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday announced new tariffs on imports from dozens of US trading partners, including India, China and countries across Europe, after the Supreme Court blocked his broader tariff policy earlier this year. The new duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, will take effect at 12:01 am on Friday, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

The agency said the measures cover goods from 60 trading partners that account for 99.4% of US imports. The rollout coincides with the expiry of a 10% near-universal tariff imposed by Trump earlier this year under emergency powers, a policy that was later rejected by the Supreme Court.

Senior White House officials said the administration remained committed to pursuing the President’s trade agenda despite the court’s ruling. “The President is not going to allow his trade policy and overall objectives to be undermined simply because one tool may be limited by a court or something else,” officials told reporters during a briefing on Thursday.

The administration said the latest tariffs follow a months-long investigation by the USTR into the alleged use of forced labour in goods exported to the United States and what it described as the failure of various countries to address the practice.

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The tariffs apply to imports from countries supplying nearly all goods purchased by the United States from abroad. Administration officials said several products, including oil and gas and goods that cannot be sourced domestically, would be exempt.

Officials said introducing the new tariffs as the earlier 10% duty expired was intended to “avoid complexity” that would result from overlapping tariff regimes.

They also said businesses had sought greater certainty after months of shifting US trade policies. “We have heard loud and clear: people want to know what tariff rate they’re going to pay,” one administration official said. “The real message here that everyone needs to take away is the President is going to always use the tools at his disposal to achieve his trade policy objectives.”

Some countries qualified for the lower 10% tariff after taking steps to address alleged forced labour concerns. However, administration officials said they were not convinced those efforts would eliminate the practice and indicated that the higher 12.5% tariffs could remain in place.

The administration said the latest measures are unlikely to immediately increase prices for most US consumers because importers have already been paying similar duties. However, officials acknowledged that could change in the coming weeks and months.

The White House is also pursuing several other investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including one examining whether major trading partners such as China, Mexico and the European Union contribute to global manufacturing overcapacity.

Trade experts regard Section 301 tariffs as more legally durable because they have survived previous court challenges, unlike the emergency powers used for Trump’s earlier “Liberation Day” tariff programme.

The administration is also exploring other ways to increase border taxes. Earlier this week, the White House announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods from next month under a previously unused provision of the Smoot-Hawley Trade Act.

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