According to Bloomberg, the new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, took effect on July 24, replacing the temporary 10% global tariff introduced earlier this year, which expired the same day.
Kazakhstan is subject to a 12.5% tariff. Other countries facing the same rate include China, Japan and South Korea. A 10% tariff applies to imports from Canada, the European Union, India and the United Kingdom.
The measures affect dozens of US trading partners, including major economies that account for the overwhelming majority of US imports. Washington has long prohibited the import of goods produced with forced labor and said its trading partners should adopt comparable standards.
"Our trading partners should have done the same," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.
The latest tariffs follow legal challenges to an earlier round of broad import duties introduced by Trump in 2025.
In February, the US Supreme Court ruled that the president lacked the authority to impose those tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. As a result, the administration was required to compensate importers that had paid the duties.
Trump subsequently introduced a temporary 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a provision that allows such measures to remain in force for up to 150 days. That measure expired on July 24.
The new tariffs have instead been imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the president to take trade actions against countries deemed to engage in unfair or discriminatory trade practices.
Brazil, which is also subject to a 12.5% tariff, condemned the measure as "arbitrary and unjustified" and said it intends to introduce retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
In a statement, the Brazilian government accused Washington of exploiting an issue of global importance for human rights and labor rights in order to justify trade restrictions against 59 countries and the European Union.
Human rights organizations said there are grounds for skepticism about the motivations behind the new tariffs. At the same time, they expressed hope that the measures could help reduce the use of forced labor.
