Nigeria was affected following a new wave of US tariffs targeting 60 trading partners that took effect on Friday, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
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The levies, which range from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent and impact major economies like China, India and the European Union, sparked protests from Beijing and other targets.
The new tariffs had been expected, but trade partners around the world joined in strongly disputing the justification for them. Some, however, noted they would make no difference to current levies or even marked a slight improvement.
Bond yields edged higher as the tariffs added to inflation risk, but reaction was generally limited in financial markets more focused on the Middle East conflict.
The new tariffs, announced in a Federal Register notice, cover 99.4% of U.S. imports, but include numerous product exemptions, such as oil and gas, fertilizer and certain food items.
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The U.S. claims that trading partners had failed to clamp down on trade in goods made with forced labor passing through their supply chains, an accusation those countries deny.
“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
PARTNERS REACT
French Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said that, while the legal basis raised questions, the tariffs nonetheless provided greater visibility for businesses.
While disputing the allegations underlying the forced labor investigation, the Swiss government also said the United States was adhering to past commitments on tariff ceilings, in its case of up to 12.5%.
Former EU chief negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero, now a senior fellow at think tank Bruegel, said the United States had sought to ensure the new duties respected the tariff aspects of the EU-U.S. trade deal, but noted that additional tariffs from a further Section 301 investigation into excess capacity were still to come. That targets 16 trading partners, including the EU, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.
Britain, which is not a target of that second probe, said the latest move would have no negative effects.
“Our agreement with the U.S. remains in place, and today we see an improvement to our trading terms with zero tariffs on whisky and medical technology,” a government spokesperson said.
The British Chamber of Commerce described the new tariffs as a mixed picture, with a welcome confirmation of the removal of U.S. tariffs on whisky, a lower tariff rate than competitors for steel, but a loss in comparative advantage over the EU and other countries for other goods.
WIDELY TELEGRAPHED MOVE WITH EXEMPTIONS
The action drew stronger protests from some trade partners.
China said it opposed all unilateral tariffs, adding that trade wars did not serve any parties.
Trump administration officials have told Chinese counterparts they intend to rebuild Trump’s second-term tariffs on Chinese goods back up to the 20% that was agreed upon in a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2025 – but not exceed that level. Prior to Friday’s action, China’s tariff rate had fallen to 10%, excluding the 25% imposed during Trump’s first term on industrial goods.
Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they would seek to have them removed, while Norway said there was “no basis” for them. Canada – hit on Monday with new Trump tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods – issued a muted response.
“We will continue engaging constructively with the United States on this matter, as well as other outstanding issues, over the coming weeks to the mutual benefit of our citizens,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of U.S. trade.
Kelly Ann Shaw, a former White House trade adviser in Trump’s first term and a partner with the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld law firm, said the new tariffs tracked what had been telegraphed, although some changes had been made, including the addition of some 471 products to an exclusion list.
“I think this is more status quo in terms of the economic impact,” she said.
Many goods will be exempted from the duties, including oil and gas, fertilizer, certain foodstuffs and goods already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs, such as autos, steel, aluminum and copper, the official said. Aircraft and parts will also be exempted, along with critical minerals.
There were some winners.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre said the restored exemption was significant news for the local diamond sector. Belgium exported $2.1 billion of polished diamonds to the United States in 2024. The exemption had lapsed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs in February.
Maintaining Leverage
Washington is separately investigating 16 economies over excess industrial capacity in probes that could lead to additional duties.
These could eventually result in varying rates among countries, experts warn.
The Trump administration’s move to impose a baseline tariff while sustaining the threat of further duties maintains leverage over its trading partners, trade lawyer Greta Peisch told AFP.
It also creates an incentive for countries to comply with trade pacts that they earlier struck, she added.
In spending time on investigations, officials want their incoming tariffs to be robust if there are court challenges, said Peisch, a partner at Wiley Rein and former general counsel for the Office of the US Trade Representative.
“This makes it much more likely that they stay for the duration of Trump’s term,” signalling a “much more protectionist world’s largest economy” moving forward, Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council told AFP.
Resurrecting tariffs boosts government revenues, he added.
‘Fragile’ deals
The Trump administration has been hunting for options that would allow it to aggressively deploy tariffs, said former US trade official Ryan Majerus.
In the longer term, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which Greer tapped to impose the latest duties, provides “more flexibility than people realise”, Majerus said.
Once in place, officials can modify them based on new developments, added Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding.
The latest salvo comes shortly after a 25 per cent tariff took effect on various Brazilian goods, as Washington accused the Latin American giant of unfair trade practices.
This week, Trump also ordered new 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian products, citing Ottawa’s “discriminatory treatment” of American alcohol, automobile and dairy products.
The Canadian tariffs taking effect in a month rely on an untested legal provision, showing that Trump has other tools to swiftly wield, said Lipsky.
This signals that US tariff deals “are still fragile,” he said.
S/N Economy / Country Section 301 Tariff Rate Category / Mechanism
1 Argentina 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
2 Bangladesh 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
3 Cambodia 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
4 Canada 10% Enforcement Framework / ART
5 Ecuador 10% Enforcement Framework / ART
6 El Salvador 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
7 Guatemala 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
8 Honduras 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
9 India 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
10 Indonesia 10% Enforcement Framework / ART
11 Jordan 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
12 Malaysia 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
13 Mexico 10% Enforcement Framework / ART
14 Pakistan 10% Enforcement Framework / ART
15 Sri Lanka 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
16 Trinidad and Tobago 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
17 United Kingdom 10% Forced Labor Ban / ART Commitment
18 European Union 10% (Net of MFN) Total duty capped at 10% (0% if MFN ≥ 10%)
19 Taiwan 10% (Net of MFN) Total duty capped at 10% (0% if MFN ≥ 10%)
20 Japan 12.5% (Net of MFN) Total duty capped at 12.5% (0% if MFN ≥ 12.5%)
21 South Korea 12.5% (Net of MFN) Total duty capped at 12.5% (0% if MFN ≥ 12.5%)
22 Switzerland 12.5% (Net of MFN) Total duty capped at 12.5% (0% if MFN ≥ 12.5%)
23 Algeria 12.5% Standard Rate
24 Angola 12.5% Standard Rate
25 Australia 12.5% Standard Rate
26 The Bahamas 12.5% Standard Rate
27 Bahrain 12.5% Standard Rate
28 Brazil 12.5% Standard Rate
29 Chile 12.5% Standard Rate
30 China (People’s Republic of) 12.5% Standard Rate
31 Colombia 12.5% Standard Rate
32 Costa Rica 12.5% Standard Rate
33 Dominican Republic 12.5% Standard Rate
34 Egypt 12.5% Standard Rate
35 Guyana 12.5% Standard Rate
36 Hong Kong, China 12.5% Standard Rate
37 Iraq 12.5% Standard Rate
38 Israel 12.5% Standard Rate
39 Kazakhstan 12.5% Standard Rate
40 Kuwait 12.5% Standard Rate
41 Libya 12.5% Standard Rate
42 Morocco 12.5% Standard Rate
43 New Zealand 12.5% Standard Rate
44 Nicaragua 12.5% Standard Rate
45 Nigeria 12.5% Standard Rate
46 Norway 12.5% Standard Rate
47 Oman 12.5% Standard Rate
48 Peru 12.5% Standard Rate
49 Philippines 12.5% Standard Rate
50 Qatar 12.5% Standard Rate
51 Russia 12.5% Standard Rate
52 Saudi Arabia 12.5% Standard Rate
53 Singapore 12.5% Standard Rate
54 South Africa 12.5% Standard Rate
55 Thailand 12.5% Standard Rate
56 Türkiye 12.5% Standard Rate
57 United Arab Emirates 12.5% Standard Rate
58 Uruguay 12.5% Standard Rate
59 Venezuela 12.5% Standard Rate
60 Vietnam 12.5% Standard Rate
AFP
