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A container ship sits at a cargo terminal in Tokyo, Japan, on April 9, 2025. (AP/Yonhap)

The US imposed new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from key trading partners, citing lax enforcement of measures against imports of goods made with forced labor.
 
This development appears to be an attempt to maintain its existing global tariff system by introducing new tariffs upon the expiration of the temporary 10% tariffs implemented after the Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs in February.
 
Korean products will be subjected to a total tariff of 12.5%, which includes existing tariffs.
 
The Office of the US Trade Representative announced Thursday (local time) it would take action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to the failure of key trading partners and 60 economies to bar imports of goods produced with forced labor. Those economies make up 99.4% of US imports.
 
The new tariff rates took effect at 12:01 am on Friday (EDT), when the existing temporary 10% tariffs expired. When the Supreme Court struck down the comprehensive global tariffs in February, Trump used Section 122 of the Trade Act to justify temporary 150-day 10% tariffs.
 
Reuters quoted a senior Trump administration official who claimed that “the US has stronger import bans on goods made with forced labor and enforces them more rigidly than any other country,” and that these tariffs were a response to calls for the “eradication of forced labor from global supply chains.”
 
“The US has had a forced labor 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 in a statement. “Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”
 
Countries with existing bans on imports linked to forced labor, as well as those that have committed to adopting and enforcing such laws, will be subject to a 10% tariff rate. The 17 economies covered under this category include Argentina, Canada, India, Mexico and the UK. Other countries will face a 12.5% tariff.
 
Products made in Korea and subject to the duties will be subject to a target tariff rate of 12.5%. 

According to the notice in the Federal Register, if the original tariff on specific products is lower than 12.5%, the difference will be imposed so that the sum of the existing tariff and the additional tariff based on Section 301 equals 12.5%. If the original tariff is already at 12.5% or higher, no additional Section 301 tariffs will be imposed.
 
For Korean products that qualify for preferential tariffs under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, additional tariffs will be calculated based on that preferential rate.
 
For example, products that previously entered tariff-free under the FTA will now face an additional 12.5% tariff, while those subject to an existing 5% tariff will see their rate increase to 12.5%.
 
Imports from Japan and Switzerland will face additional tariffs, raising their total tariff rates to 12.5%. Tariffs on goods from the EU and Taiwan will be adjusted so that their combined rates reach 10%.
 
This measure also includes broad exemption provisions to prevent price shocks and chaos within industries. Items that are subject to security tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, such as steel, aluminum, automobiles and car parts, will not be subject to these new tariffs.  
 
Some food products, agricultural products, fertilizers, energy products such as oil and natural gas, and raw materials that cannot be sufficiently produced within the US are also exempt from the new rates.
 
Products that meet the duty-free requirements under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will also be exempt from the tariffs.
 
The new tariffs are based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the US president to respond to unfair or discriminatory policies that restrict US commerce through tariffs or other import restrictions.
 
These tariffs may remain in effect indefinitely, and the president may adjust the rates.
 
Some analysts view the move as an effort by the Trump administration to respond to the Supreme Court’s February ruling by relying on a provision of the Trade Act that would be more likely to withstand judicial scrutiny.
 
Tim Brightbill, a partner at law firm Wiley Rein, which has a prominent International Trade Practice, explained to The Wall Street Journal that, even though some critics have argued that the forced labor investigation was not as thorough as previous Section 301 probes, the Trade Act does not require “mathematical precision” for tariffs to pass legal muster.
 
The newest tariff rate is similar to the temporary rates, so the immediate economic impact is expected to be limited. However, the Trump administration is also conducting a separate Section 301 probe into structural overcapacity and excess production in the manufacturing sector across 16 economies, including Korea.
 
Additional tariffs may be slapped on certain Korean products depending on the results of that investigation.

By Kim Won-chul, Washington correspondent

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