Trade war is back on as White House floats a new minimum 10% tariff plan—with carveouts for coffee, beef, and microchip suppliers

President Trump’s team is once again ruffling international feathers with a new plan for import tariffs imposed on 60 trade allies, facing levies of either 10% or 12.5%. In an update released overnight, the United States Trade Representative claimed a number of trade partners had failed to effectively handle goods produced with forced labor, which were therefore subject to action under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act.“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer in a statement released late last night. “We will no longer tolerate this disparity.” The report suggests that economies that have undertaken commitments or actioned policy against forced labor—Canada, Mexico, the EU and the UK among them—should be subject to a 10% tariff. All other economies, such as China, Brazil, and India face a 12.5% hike. Despite a raft of deals being signed since President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, the goalposts seem to be changing once again for foreign allies attempting to do business with the U.S. Already, Trump’s protectionist scheme has resulted in a tit-for-tat trade war with China, as well as barbed exchanges with the likes of European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. However, the Trump administration has a significant financial hole to fill: In February this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a tranche of tariffs the White House had rolled out in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The government was ordered to pay them back, some $129 billion, according to Congressional documents. Learning the lesson The new bevy of tariffs comes with an interesting footnote: An annex of exceptions from the additional duties. Among this list are many pantry cupboard sta