With Trump's temporary global tariff lapsing on 24 July, USTR Jamieson Greer confirms new Section 301 duties targeting nearly all US trade partners are imminent, built on a forced-labour investigation opened in March.
US President Donald Trump is set to impose new tariffs on dozens of countries as early as this week, according to a Financial Times report published yesterday, 21 July 2026, ahead of the expiration of the temporary 10% global tariff on Friday, 24 July 2026.
The report said the initial round of tariffs is expected to remain at around 10%, although the administration is also pursuing separate investigations that could provide the legal basis for imposing significantly higher duties.
USTR Jamieson Greer told CNBC on 21 July 2026 that new forced-labour tariffs are close, though he still won’t name a date: “We expect to see some action soon… I can’t really specify a timeline right now.”
The expiring tariff was a stopgap under Section 122 of the Trade Act, put in place after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s broader tariff regime on February 20.
Its replacement runs through a sturdier channel: Section 301.
When USTR opened forced-labour investigations into 60 economies — a list heavy with allies (Canada, Britain, India, the EU, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) as well as China and Russia.
By June, it had become a concrete proposal: 10% tariffs on 14 countries plus the EU, and 12.5% on the other 45, China included. Public comment has already closed, clearing the procedural path once Friday hits.
Greer estimates the new duties would touch about 99% of their trade.
A separate, still-pending probe into excess manufacturing capacity could add more country-specific tariffs later this year.
For a preview of how this plays out: Brazil was hit last week with 25% tariffs on furniture, ethanol, machinery, footwear and sugar under a completed Section 301 case, coffee and beef exempted.
Separately, the Trump administration announced 50% tariffs on about USD 20 billion worth of Canadian imports, effective 19 August 2026, under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, targeting a broad range of products.
