Trump’s latest import taxes could set a precedent for a ‘broad tariff generator’ on anything a president wants to target, expert warns

President Donald Trump is continuing to wage a global trade war with a new set of tariffs designed to hold up in court and with potentially far-reaching consequences that could last well beyond the current administration.

Duties of 10 to 12.5% on 60 U.S. trading partners went into effect on Friday, claiming to combat unfair practices related to “forced labor.” But unlike Trump’s earlier global tariffs, the latest batch rests on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and it’s considered to be on firmer legal footing.

That’s after the Supreme Court struck down his “Liberation Day” levies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, prompting him to apply temporary stopgap tariffs that expired just as the new ones took effect.

Since they largely replace import taxes that were in place earlier, the immediate economic impact of the Section 301 tariffs is seen as minimal, but they still set a precedent that future presidents could invoke,........

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