Overview
- The White House replaced an expiring universal 10% duty with a two‑tier Section 301 program that applies 10% or 12.5% tariffs to roughly 60 trading partners.
- Canberra was assigned the higher 12.5% rate and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will press President Trump directly and contest the decision at every diplomatic and legal level.
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer framed the move as correcting an unfair advantage for imports tied to forced labour and said the tariffs target countries that have not done enough to stop such goods.
- Australia says it has recently strengthened criminal and supply‑chain laws to combat modern slavery and warns the duties will raise costs for U.S. consumers and harm bilateral trade.
- The measure follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that undercut the administration’s earlier 10% global duty and has already prompted protests, carve‑outs for some goods, and legal challenges from affected governments and businesses.