The U.S. Just Slapped New Tariffs on 60 Countries — Here’s What Businesses Need to Know

On 23 July 2026, the U.S. Trade Representative announced a sweeping new round of import tariffs targeting goods from 60 countries. The list includes some of the world’s biggest trading partners — China, the EU, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and India — and the tariffs kicked in the very next day.

If your business touches international trade in any way, this is not something to skim past. These tariffs could reshape your landed costs, your supplier relationships, and your entire cross-border shipping strategy.

So Why Has the U.S. Done This?

The tariffs were introduced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a well-established legal mechanism for trade enforcement, not the emergency powers the Trump administration leaned on earlier. That distinction matters, because previous blanket tariffs were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. This approach is built on firmer legal ground.

The official justification centres on forced labour. After a four-month investigation — which included two rounds of public hearings and over 2,100 submissions from businesses, trade associations, and stakeholders — the USTR concluded that too many trading partners have failed to enforce bans on goods made with forced labour.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer put it plainly:

“President Trump recognises that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains. The United States 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.”

You can read the full official announcement directly from the USTR at ustr.gov.

How the New Tariff Rates Actually Work

There are two additional duty rates depending on how a country has handled its own forced labour import restrictions:

• 10% additional duty — applied to countries that have adopted a full or partial ban on forced labour imports.
• 12.5% additional duty — applied to countries that have adopted no comparable restrictions at all.

For countries already benefiting from Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff treatment — which includes EU member states, Japan, and South Korea — the new rate is calculated on top of the existing MFN duty. There is also a limited provision allowing certain volumes of apparel and textiles from specific countries to enter at reduced rates.

When Do They Kick In — and Is There a Grace Period?

The tariffs officially took effect on Friday, 24 July 2026. However, there is a short transition window. Any goods that were loaded onto a vessel before 24 July and entered the United States before 28 July will not be subject to the new duties. After that, the full rates apply.

If you have shipments in transit right now, it’s worth checking those dates carefully.

Why This Is Bigger Than a Forced Labour Story

Most analysts are reading between the lines here. Yes, the stated aim is supply chain accountability and protecting American manufacturers from unfair competition. But this move also signals that the administration is rebuilding its tariff strategy on a legally defensible foundation after its earlier efforts were blocked by the courts.

There’s more potentially on the way. The USTR has already launched a separate Section 301 investigation into global excess industrial capacity. That means additional tariffs in specific sectors could be announced before the end of the year.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

Even if you’re not exporting directly to the U.S., you are likely to feel the ripple effects. As American buyers shift sourcing strategies to avoid higher duties, manufacturers across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America will see changes in demand, pricing pressure, and shipping patterns.

For businesses that do ship into the U.S. market, prepare for:

• Higher landed costs eating into your margins
• Greater scrutiny of supply chain documentation and compliance
• Pressure to review and potentially diversify your sourcing
• More complex customs processes and duty calculations
• Shifts in international shipping routes as competitors adapt

Reducing the Complexity You Can Control

You cannot control what governments decide on tariff policy. What you can control is how efficiently your logistics operation runs — and how quickly you can adapt when the rules change.

Pigee’s courier management tools give businesses a single platform to compare carriers, manage cross-border shipments, track deliveries in real time, and generate shipping documentation without juggling multiple providers. When your supply chain is under pressure from external forces, cutting internal friction becomes even more valuable.

Pigee won’t make the tariffs disappear, but it can help you keep operational costs lean and logistics decisions smarter as global trade continues to shift. Find out more at pigeepost.com.

What You Should Be Doing Right Now

Trade policy is no longer a background concern — it’s a strategic one. Here’s a practical starting point:

1. Review your current sourcing and understand which goods are affected by the new tariff rates.
2. Calculate how additional duties will change your landed costs and margin calculations.
3. Audit your supply chain documentation for customs compliance, particularly around labour practices.
4. Explore whether supplier diversification is a viable option for your highest-exposure product lines.
5. Build logistics flexibility into your operation so you can reroute and adapt quickly.

These tariffs are almost certainly not the last. More investigations are already underway, and the broader direction of U.S. trade policy suggests this environment is here to stay. Businesses that treat supply chain agility as a competitive advantage — rather than a nice-to-have — will be far better placed to navigate what comes next.