President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on more than 80 countries, replacing a 10% duty with rates of 10% to 12.5% that cite enforcement of forced‑labour import bans under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

The Supreme Court earlier this year struck down several of the administration’s tariffs as illegal. The administration says the new measures address non‑compliance with bans on goods produced using forced labour, a claim contested by many trading partners.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the bloc would seek clarification, noting it had honored the 2025 transatlantic trade agreement and viewed the tariffs as a surprise.

Australia, Brazil, Norway and New Zealand expressed opposition, saying the tariffs were unjustified. Norway’s foreign minister said its own forced‑labour rules made the duty baseless. New Zealand’s prime minister called the move disappointing and said the United States had not provided evidence.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the United States had policed its own forced‑labour import ban for nearly a century and urged partners to do the same.

Critics, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, argued the forced‑labour justification was a pretext for a tariff policy based on dubious legal theory.

Former trade official Ryan Majerus noted the measures followed a months‑long investigation and were designed to be more resistant to legal challenges.

The administration differentiated rates: countries with enforced forced‑labour bans, such as Canada, the EU, India and the UK, faced the lower 10% rate, while China, Japan, South Korea and many others were assigned the higher 12.5% rate.

The announcement followed a 50% duty on Canadian goods, prompting Canada to cancel a planned joint celebration for a new US‑Canada bridge. Government officials said the latest measure was not unexpected and that further investigations into 16 economies for alleged excess industrial capacity were underway.

The White House indicated further tariff actions were possible as the administration continued its review of trade practices.