The U.S. government imposed new tariffs between 10% and 12.5% [1] on imports from 60 countries [2] on Thursday, July 23, 2026 [3].
These measures represent a significant escalation in trade policy aimed at dismantling forced-labor practices within global supply chains. By targeting a broad array of nations, the administration is signaling that human rights compliance is now a primary condition for market access to the United States.
The White House said the tariffs follow a Section 301 investigation [4] conducted under the 1974 Trade Act [4]. This legal mechanism allows the U.S. to investigate and respond to foreign trade practices that are deemed unfair or burden some U.S. commerce. The administration said the move is a necessary step to correct human-rights abuses [5].
President Donald Trump announced the double-digit levies [3], targeting a wide list of trading partners. While some reports differ on the specific list of nations, other sources indicate that China is among the 60 countries [5] affected by the new trade restrictions.
The tariffs range from 10% to 12.5% [1] and apply to goods entering the U.S. [6]. The administration believes that financial penalties on imports will pressure foreign governments to eliminate forced labor from their production processes, a goal the White House said is central to the current trade strategy.
Trade officials said that the Section 301 investigation provided the evidentiary basis for these actions [4]. The move marks one of the widest applications of forced-labor tariffs in U.S. history, affecting dozens of nations across multiple continents simultaneously.
“The U.S. government imposed new tariffs between 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 countries.”
The use of Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to address forced labor shifts the U.S. approach from targeted sanctions on specific companies to broad, country-wide economic pressure. By implementing double-digit tariffs across 60 nations, the U.S. is attempting to force a systemic change in global manufacturing standards, though this may lead to increased costs for consumers and potential retaliatory trade measures from the affected countries.
