US Set to Impose New Tariffs by Friday With Stopgap to Expire

gc1b]c1as]]ibvmhp8hev6)e_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg Economics, USTR

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump is poised to impose fresh levies on products from dozens of economies by Friday, according to people familiar with the matter, a move to ensure his tariff regime remains intact even after stopgap 10% global duties lapse.

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The Trump administration last month proposed new tariffs of at least 10% on 60 trading partners, citing what it said were lax forced-labor standards. The president’s team is preparing to impose duties by the week’s end, though it’s not clear if they’ll diverge from the initial proposal, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans before they’re public. 

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Trump’s temporary charges are set to expire on Friday, and if the next round of levies are implemented by then, the White House would avoid any gap between the two. The plan is not final and could change. 

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The president applied the across-the-board 10% rate after the Supreme Court struck down his previous global tariffs earlier this year. 

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That duty was applied under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allows the president to enact a 10% import surcharge for as many as 150 days to address balance-of-payments deficits. The US Court of International Trade also knocked down that tariff but limited relief only to the plaintiffs and left it broadly intact for other importers.

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By moving forward with the latest proposal, Trump would cement his commitment to tariffs, despite voter concerns about the cost of living heading into November’s midterm elections. 

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Critics of his policies argue that import taxes raise the price of consumer goods, but the president and top administration officials say that tariffs are necessary to rebuild American manufacturing might and protect domestic industries. 

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The administration this week vowed to impose 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, dramatically escalating Trump’s long-running trade fight with the US’s northern neighbor. The US moved last week to apply a 25% tariff on many Brazilian products. 

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Under the Office of the US Trade Representative’s proposal on addressing forced-labor used to make imported goods, items from dozens of economies including Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Taiwan would face a 10% duty. Products imported to the US from other major economies, including China, India and Japan, would be subject to a 12.5% levy.

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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday final implementation of the forced-labor investigation is imminent, though he declined to give specifics. Those duties would be applied under Section 301 of the Trade Act, which allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs to combat foreign trade practices deemed to burden US commerce.

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“We expect to see some action soon,” Greer said Tuesday on CNBC. “I can’t really specify a timeline right now — I have a responsibility to brief Congress and other stakeholders before I really reveal that kind of thing. But we do expect action soon on that front.”

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However, another potential slew of tariffs from a separate probe into excess capacity are not expected to be in place by Friday. Administration officials have recently said the process for those is still ongoing.

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The proposed results require a formal comment period and hearings before the duties go into place. That means that the complete reimposition of Trump’s emergency tariffs won’t come until a later date.

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—With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

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