Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand exports to the United States will face a 12.5% tariff, after Washington placed the country in a higher bracket partly because it lacks a prohibition on goods produced using forced labour.
The new duties apply to 60 US trading partners and replace a temporary 10% global tariff that expires today.
Countries and economies judged to have implemented forced-labour import bans, including Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, will face the lower 10% rate. New Zealand, Australia, China and Japan are among those receiving the higher 12.5% tariff.
“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.
The Trump administration introduced the tariffs after the US Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s earlier duties in February. A replacement 10% tariff imposed under different legal powers was limited to 150 days.
The latest measures follow a months-long investigation and use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which former US trade official Ryan Majerus said gives the administration considerable flexibility to adjust tariffs in response to later developments.
Steel, aluminium and other goods already covered by sector-specific tariffs will not be affected by the new levy. Goods entering under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement are also exempt.
Washington is separately investigating 16 economies over excess industrial capacity, potentially exposing some countries to further tariffs.
