Overview
- The 10% global import levy set under Section 122 is due to expire on July 24, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative has proposed replacing it with durable Section 301 duties that target 60 countries.
- Under the USTR plan, most countries would face either a 10% or 12.5% tariff based on whether they have formal bans and demonstrable enforcement against imports made with forced labor.
- The administration has reportedly proposed higher, targeted levies in some cases, including a reported 25% tariff on certain imports from Brazil and separate sector tariffs such as pharmaceutical measures slated to take effect July 31.
- The USTR’s June 2 report assessed country-level laws and enforcement rather than declaring that specific U.S. imports were made with forced labor, and public hearings and comment periods have already been held.
- Economists say the changes would raise the U.S. effective tariff rate only modestly (about 0.5 percentage point) but could hit specific industries hard, and trading partners have begun contesting the criteria while the USTR opens a separate overcapacity probe that could widen trade actions.