US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday that new tariff measures targeting dozens of countries could be announced soon, as President Donald Trump’s temporary global tariff regime is set to expire later this week.
“The US has laws to prohibit trading goods with forced labour. Other countries, most don’t have a law; those that do don’t really enforce it,” he told CNBC. “We expect to see some action soon.”
However, he could not specify a timeline.
While Trump imposed a 10% global duty this year after a swath of his tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, this levy expires Friday.
Analysts expect that the planned tariffs over forced labour concerns — which range between 10% and 12.5%– would replace the temporary duties.
Greer added Tuesday that the new action will cover the vast majority of US trade.
Greer’s comments come as the Trump administration recently proposed a wave of new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from countries over alleged failures to act against forced labour.
The clock is ticking on President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff, introduced in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court invalidated his broader “Liberation Day” tariff policy. The measure is scheduled to lapse at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday unless Congress acts to extend it—a move widely seen as unlikely. Even so, the Trump administration has already begun laying the groundwork to preserve its broader tariff strategy through new trade actions.
In early June, the Office of the US Trade Representative proposed more tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies. The new duties, brought under another section of the 1974 trade law, Section 301, would be imposed in response to alleged forced labour.
