WASHINGTON: The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed new import tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent on products imported from Pakistan and nearly 60 other major trading partners.
The new tariffs came into effect after the temporary 10 percent global tariff expired on Friday. The measures have been introduced under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes Washington to impose additional duties on imports from countries engaged in practices considered unfair to US trade interests.
The Trump administration said the move is part of broader efforts to discourage the import of goods produced through forced labour and to encourage trading partners to adopt stronger labour rights standards.
The US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the objective is to promote greater transparency across global supply chains while ensuring better protection of workers’ rights.
In this regard, a notice published in the Federal Register stated that the revised tariff policy will apply to approximately 99.4 percent of US imports.
However, several categories have been exempted from the new duties, including oil and gas, fertilizers, selected food products, critical minerals, aircraft and aircraft parts.
In addition, products already subject to tariffs on national security grounds—including automobiles, steel, aluminium and copper—will remain outside the scope of the newly announced measures.
So far, under the revised policy imports from Pakistan, India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Jordan will face an additional 10 percent tariff. Meanwhile, products imported from China, Vietnam and 38 other countries will be subject to a 12.5 percent tariff.
US officials also indicated that tariffs on Chinese imports could increase to 20 percent in the future, depending on the outcome of upcoming trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
The announcement has drawn concern from several US trading partners. The European Union, Australia, Brazil, Norway and Canada have expressed reservations over the new tariff measures.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas questioned the US rationale, saying the decision was difficult to understand given that European countries maintain some of the world’s strongest labour protection systems and employment laws.
