Trump’s New Tariffs on Over 80 Countries, Explained

New U.S. tariffs on 60 economies take effect Friday, in the latest recourse by President Donald Trump’s Administration to impose alternative taxes on imported goods after the Supreme Court struck down most of his aggressive ones earlier this year.The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the new tariffs on Thursday, citing these economies' alleged failure to impose and “effectively” enforce a ban on the import of goods “produced with forced labor.”“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,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement. “Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”Since the U.S.’s top court ruled in February that Trump lacked the authority to impose sweeping import taxes through emergency powers, he has turned to temporary measures. The new round of levies takes effect just as a previous 10% global tariff expired Friday. Trump has argued that high tariffs will boost American manufacturing and thus bring jobs, de...