Trump's New Tariffs on 80+ Countries: What They Mean for Your Wallet

President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs on more than 80 countries took effect on Friday, July 25, reviving broad-based import duties on nearly all U.S. trading partners after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier round of tariffs earlier this year. The new levies, which replace a temporary 10% global tariff that expired the same day, are justified under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, citing alleged forced labor violations by trading partners.

Countries that have made commitments to ban forced labor imports — including Argentina, Bangladesh, the 27-nation European Union and Taiwan — face a 10% tariff rate. All other trading partners, in 41 countries, that have not adopted such prohibitions face a 12.5% rate.

Impact on Prices and the Economy

The new tariffs cover about 99% of all U.S. imports, but a series of exemptions significantly limits their reach. Exempted products include food items, fuel, fertilizers and goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). As a result, the average tariff rate actually fell slightly — from 11.4% to 11.1% — when the new measures replaced the expiring tariff, according to the Yale Budget Lab. However, it is projected to rise to 11.8% by the end of 2026 as additional proposed tariffs take effect.

Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank acknowledged the shift but downplayed its immediate impact: "Perhaps the most important takeaway is how little changes economically. The announcement is less about raising tariff rates and more about preserving them."

Legal Durability

The key difference between these tariffs and the earlier batch struck down by the Supreme Court lies in their legal basis. Section 301 gives the president authority to impose levies in response to unfair foreign trade practices — seen as a more durable legal framework than the emergency powers previously used. However, critics disagree. Former WTO deputy director-general Alan Wolff argues the statute was intended to address individual countries, not issue blanket global tariffs.

If maintained over a decade, the tariffs could generate up to $900 billion in additional federal revenue, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — though this would represent less than 60% of the revenue expected under the struck-down tariffs.

Separately, Trump has also imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods including hockey sticks and wine, a 25% levy on some Brazilian exports, and a 100% tariff on generic drug manufacturers set to take effect in 2028. "Tariffs are increasingly becoming a permanent feature of U.S. economic policy," Deutsche Bank's Reid noted, reflecting a broader shift in how the U.S. approaches international trade.