U.S. Imposes New Tariffs on 60 Countries, Escalating Global Trade War
In a significant shift in U.S. trade policy, the Trump administration unveiled a fresh wave of permanent tariffs on 60 major trading partners in the early hours of Friday, July 25, 2026. These tariffs impact countries that together represent 99.4% of all U.S. imports. The new duties, which range from 10% to 12.5%, came into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET, replacing the temporary 10% global tariffs that expired at midnight on Thursday.
These tariffs, issued under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, are a response to the trading partners’ failure to adequately enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor. Countries such as Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom face the 10% rate, while over 40 others — including China and Japan — are subject to the higher 12.5% levy. The EU has labeled these tariffs as “unjustified.”
This development marks the latest chapter in a tumultuous year for U.S. trade policy. The administration’s original “Liberation Day” tariffs were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, leading to nearly $50 billion in tariff refunds to American businesses in June alone. The new Section 301 tariffs are designed to be legally more robust and are intended as a permanent feature of the administration’s trade strategy.
Financial markets reacted with unease, with geopolitics and trade uncertainty keeping traders on edge as the weekend approached. Several further investigations targeting countries over excess industrial capacity are currently underway, with more tariff rounds expected in the coming months.
Source: Yahoo Finance — Trump’s Next Phase of Global Tariffs