The United States is set to impose new tariffs that could hit dozens of countries soon, trade envoy Jamieson Greer signalled on Tuesday (Jul 21), with President Donald Trump’s temporary global levies due to expire this week.
The Trump administration has prepared fresh tariffs targeting 60 trading partners over their alleged failures to act against forced labour, as officials push to rebuild the US leader’s trade agenda after legal setbacks.
“We expect to see some action soon,” Greer told CNBC when asked if new duties were incoming. He did not specify a timeline.
Trump imposed a 10 per cent global duty this year after a swath of his tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, but this levy expires on Friday.
Analysts expect that new tariffs over forced labour concerns – set between 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent – would replace these temporary duties.
They come as Trump makes a renewed push to use tariffs as leverage against US trading partners, sparking fears of retaliation and diplomatic tensions.
Washington announced a fresh 25 per cent duty on certain Brazilian goods last week, and on Monday unveiled a 50 per cent levy on many Canadian products to take effect in 30 days.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that he was looking at “all options”, adding that he and Trump had agreed to “intensify discussions” in the coming weeks on a possible deal.
On Tuesday, Trump announced a new 100 per cent sector-specific tariff on imported generic drugs to take effect from August 2028, with that level rising to 200 per cent in 2029.
For now, the US leader said the tariff on generic drugs would be cut to zero from August 2026, in an effort to build a window for the onshoring of such pharmaceutical production to the United States.
FORCED LABOUR CONCERNS
Greer said Tuesday that new action on forced labour will cover the majority of US trade, with the moves likely to reignite trade tensions.
A 10 per cent tariff rate would hit US imports from partners including Canada, the European Union, Mexico, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. They were found to have taken steps against forced labour.
Goods from over 40 other major economies like China, India and Japan face a 12.5 per cent levy.
The EU previously said that it considers tariffs imposed on these grounds “unjustified”. (CNA/ AFP)