Trump Prepares to Impose New Tariffs on Dozens of Economies

SadaNews - President Donald Trump is preparing to impose new tariffs on products from dozens of economies by Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter, in a move aimed at ensuring his tariff system remains in place even after the expiration of the 10% temporary global tariffs.

Last month, the Trump administration proposed new tariffs of at least 10% on 60 trade partners, citing what it described as lenient standards regarding forced labor. The president's team is gearing up to impose the tariffs by the end of the week, although it remains unclear if they will differ from the initial proposal, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans before they were announced.

Trump's temporary tariffs are set to expire on Friday, and if the next round of tariffs is applied by that deadline, the White House will avoid any gap between the two rounds. The plan has not been finalized and may change.

The president imposed the comprehensive 10% tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down his previous global tariffs earlier this year.

Those tariffs were applied under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allows the president to impose an additional 10% tariff on imports for up to 150 days to address imbalances in the balance of payments. The U.S. International Trade Court also struck down those tariffs but limited the exemption to plaintiffs only, keeping them in place broadly for the rest of the importers.

By moving forward with the latest proposal, Trump will reinforce his commitment to tariffs, despite voter concerns about the cost of living ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Critics of his policies argue that import taxes raise consumer goods prices, but the president and senior administration officials maintain that tariffs are necessary to rebuild American manufacturing strength and protect domestic industries.

The administration pledged this week to impose 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, marking a significant escalation in Trump's long-standing trade war with the U.S. northern neighbor. Last week, the U.S. moved to impose 25% tariffs on many Brazilian products.

Under the proposal from the U.S. Trade Representative to address the use of forced labor in the manufacturing of imported goods, products from dozens of economies, including Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and Taiwan, will be subject to a 10% tariff. A 12.5% tariff will be applied to imports from other major economies, including China, India, and Japan.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Tuesday that the final implementation of the investigation related to forced labor is imminent, but he refrained from providing details. These tariffs will be applied under Section 301 of the Trade Act, which allows the president to impose unilateral tariffs to counter foreign trade practices seen as burdensome to U.S. trade.

Greer said on Tuesday to CNBC: "We expect to see movement soon." He added: "I really can’t put a timeline on it right now, given my responsibility to inform Congress and other stakeholders before I actually disclose such a matter. But we expect movement soon on this front."

However, another potential set of tariffs resulting from a separate investigation into excess energy is not expected to take effect by Friday. Administration officials said recently that the process related to it is still ongoing.

The proposed findings require an official period for receiving comments and holding hearings before the tariffs take effect. This means that a full reinstatement of Trump's emergency tariffs will not occur until a later date.