US President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday imposed new tariffs of up to 12.5% on South Korea, Japan and 58 other trading partners over forced labor concerns.
The imposition of tariffs followed Section 301 investigations into whether these economies fail to prohibit or enforce a ban on imports made with forced labor, according to White House statement on Thursday.
Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland face a net 12.5% cap, meaning their effective tariffs are reduced by their existing Most-Favored Nation (MFN) duties.
Australia and China will face a straight 12.5% tariff on all goods while Taiwan and the European Union will see tariffs capped at a net 10% (the difference between the MFN rate and 10%).
Southeast Asian nations received mixed treatment: Malaysia, Indonesia India, and Bangladesh were assigned a 10% tariff with additional textile tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) to encourage U.S. cotton and textile imports, while the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam were lumped into the 12.5% category.
There is a proposed 10% tariff on goods from economies that have a forced labor import ban in place but are not yet effectively enforcing it.
The six economies falling into this category are Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan.
