Above photo: Reuters/Mike Blake.
The countries targeted account for 99 percent of all US imports, with rates set between 10 and 12.5 percent.
The White House will impose tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on imports from 60 countries accounting for 99 percent of all US imports, claiming these nations have “inadequately” enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor.
The levies take effect as temporary 10 percent worldwide tariffs expire, and are imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which US President Donald Trump turned to after the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs he imposed under emergency economic powers and forced his administration to refund importers.
US Representative Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said the justification “is too convenient to be taken seriously,” adding that forced labor “should never be cheapened into a pretext for a tariff policy built on dubious legal theories and personal grievances.”
A 10 percent tariff was applied to goods from countries including Britain, Canada, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, and Pakistan, while the remaining countries, including China and Vietnam, face tariffs of up to 12.5 percent.
In response to the new round of tariffs, the Brazilian government, hit with a 12.5 percent rate, said in a statement that “Lacking a legal basis under domestic law to support its protectionist trade policy, the US Trade Representative chose to manipulate an issue of great importance to human rights and workers’ rights movement.”
Brazil said that “Given the completely arbitrary and unjustified nature of the tariffs announced against Brazil,” the country will move immediately to activate its Reciprocity Law and take the case to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Minister responsible for Canada–US Trade Dominic LeBlanc said the tariffs targeting 60 economies were anticipated and form part of a wider series of unilateral US trade actions.
He added that Canada shares the US objective of keeping goods produced with forced labor out of supply chains, and that Ottawa will continue engaging constructively with Washington in the coming weeks.
Canada will do whatever it takes to defend itself in a trade war with the United States, including possible retaliatory measures, Prime Minister Mark Carney told a meeting of provincial premiers after the US announced new tariffs https://t.co/wNqvYBt5Kt pic.twitter.com/bAJaoL3vO9
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 24, 2026
China denounced the new round of tariffs, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian telling reporters in Beijing, “We oppose all forms of unilateral tariffs,” adding that trade wars do not serve either of the world’s two largest economies.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas ridiculed the labor law tariffs, saying, “The argumentation behind that is it’s forced labor. I mean, sorry, but you can’t say that for the European Union.”
EU’s Kaja Kallas on Trump’s tariffs:
The argumentation behind that is it’s forced labor. I mean, sorry, but you can’t say that for the European Union.
If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States—I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labor… pic.twitter.com/Tx9u9j8Tb6
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 24, 2026
She added, “If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labor conditions for our employees.”
Beijing blacklists 14 EU firms after Brussels targets Chinese companies in latest Russia sanctions package
Rare earth elements, crucial for drone and chip manufacturing, are part of the retaliatory restrictions.
Beijing prohibited 14 EU companies from obtaining Chinese dual-use goods on 24 July, targeting Europe’s defense industry shortly after the EU included 14 Chinese and Hong Kong firms in its 21st sanctions package against Russia.
Announcing the measures with immediate effect, the Chinese Commerce Ministry called the bloc’s conduct “egregious” and demanded the EU “immediately correct its wrongdoing, eliminate the egregious impact, and safeguard the overall interests of China–EU relations with concrete actions.”
The restrictions cover dual-use items, goods, software, and technology with both civilian and military applications, including rare earth elements used to build drones and chips.
🇨🇳🇪🇺 China just blacklisted the companies arming Europe.
14 EU firms lost access to Chinese dual-use exports overnight, payback for the EU’s latest sanctions over Russia.
The list hits artillery makers, drone builders, targeting systems, military trucks and lasers.
All of them… pic.twitter.com/EpKTSoqnTj
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 24, 2026
Parties outside China are also barred from transferring Chinese-origin dual-use goods to any listed entity, though exporters may request permission in exceptional cases or when a shipment is deemed “truly necessary.”
Rheinmetall leads the list, alongside Polish electronics producer Vigo Photonics, Italian electric motor manufacturer Lafert, French drone developer Cavok UAS, Czech truckmaker Tatra, Dutch naval engineering firm IHC Merwede, and several optics and laser companies.
China sanctions Rheinmetall and 13 other weapons producers; all of them delivering weapons to Ukraine.
The 14 Chinese sanctions mirror EU sanctions on 14 Chinese companies.
There is one difference: China can replace the EU immediately, while Rheinmetall has no access to rare… pic.twitter.com/yH9dZx8RVZ
— Alternative News (@AlternatNews) July 25, 2026
Germany and France each have three entries, Italy and Poland each have two, and the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Lithuania each have one.
China’s mission to the EU lodged a formal protest, voicing “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the measures and rejecting attempts by the bloc to place responsibility for the war in Ukraine on Beijing.
It added that China “firmly opposes the EU’s unwarranted listing and sanctioning of Chinese companies and citizens.”
The 21st package subjected 51 entities to tighter export curbs on dual-use goods and technologies over their support for Russia’s military and industrial complex.
Companies based in India, Turkiye, and the UAE were listed alongside those from mainland China and Hong Kong.
Brussels targeted small trade and logistics operators in port cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dalian, while Beijing focused on Europe’s defense industry.
Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat who heads European studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the disparity does not make the response any less reciprocal from Beijing’s perspective, noting that successive EU packages have named far more Chinese firms overall than China has named in return.
“Since this whole episode arose from the Russia-Ukraine war, I think it’s understandable that China is now pointing its retaliation at Rheinmetall,” Cui said. “From Beijing’s point of view, if it’s going to retaliate, the retaliation has to bite.”
