Just before a temporary levy on global imports was set to expire, the Trump administration issued a fresh wave of tariffs on more than 80 countries late on Thursday, ranging from 10% to 12.5%. The new tariffs take effect Friday morning. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

It is Donald Trump's latest effort to continue imposing global levies without congressional approval, despite the Supreme Court ruling in February that found the US president had illegally used his executive power to implement his global trade policies. In February, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the 1977 law Trump had invoked a year earlier was not a sufficiently legal justification for the president's "Liberation Day" tariffs. The court said that the power to enact taxes during times of peace belongs solely to Congress.

Which countries are affected?

The US's largest trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China, as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, India and the 27 countries that make up the European Union, will face the latest tariffs. All of these countries were investigated by the office of the US trade representative for their labor practices, determining whether they were effectively blocking goods produced with forced labor from being imported to the US.

What are the tariff rates?

Countries will be subject to either a 10% or 12.5% duty. The 10% tariff applies to countries that "have made commitments to adopt, and effectively enforce, forced labor import prohibitions," including Canada, the European Union, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Those that have "failed to adopt a forced labor import prohibition," including Australia, Brazil, China and Japan, will be subject to a 12.5% tariff rate.

Legal basis and court ruling

Even after the Supreme Court found that many of Trump's tariffs were illegal, the administration has signaled they were determined to find an alternate solution to make tariffs permanent. Trump immediately issued a 150-day 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the court's ruling, scheduled to expire at 12:01 am on 24 July. The latest tariffs fall under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which had been used sparingly prior to Trump's presidency. It allows the president to impose tariffs if the US trade representative has conducted the required investigations and found sufficient evidence of unfair labor practices that affect American commerce.

Likelihood of legal challenge

Alan Wolff, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, wrote in an analysis that the "new tariffs would represent another case of presidential overreach." He added, "If they were challenged in court, the Supreme Court would likely overturn them."

Economic impact

The New York Federal Reserve estimated that 90% of the economic burden imposed by tariffs were passed on to US consumers and businesses, even though Trump's administration has maintained they have benefited Americans.

Public opinion

Tariff policy has also proved unpopular among many Americans, including Republicans. A recent survey from Harris Poll found that 72% of Americans believe tariffs have had a negative impact on consumers, including 64% of Republican voters.

For some American small businesses, however, tariffs have become a non-issue compared with other pressing concerns about the economy, including higher costs and artificial intelligence. Since the February Supreme Court ruling, the government has also paid companies back tens of billions of tariff revenue.