The US Government has proposed a 12.5 per cent duty on imports from countries such as China, Brazil, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Imports from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico would face a 10 per cent tariff.
In April of the past year, President Trump levied global tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent. The change in trading policy ignited worldwide concern in the jewellery industry, including the diamond trade in India, the opal trade in Australia, and the broader luxury goods industry in Europe.
The Supreme Court struck down President Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), ruling that he exceeded his authority by implementing them without congressional approval.
Now, President Trump turned to Section 301 after a trade court ruled in May that his attempt to revive the measures through a global 10 per cent tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 was unlawful.
“Experts had predicted that Trump, who has been obsessed with tariffs as a tool of national economic security for decades, would try to find a way around the Supreme Court ruling in February,” writes Lisa O’Carroll for The Guardian.
“At the time, he threatened to use tariffs in a 'much more powerful and obnoxious way' with at least six other legal routes to punish those countries he judged perilous to the US economy.
“The latest tariffs are a result of investigations into the labour laws of 60 trading partners using section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.”
The report noted that the new tariffs would not take effect immediately and are subject to public comment and review.
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