New U.S. import tariffs: Netherlands facing 10% along with other EU Member States

The United States has announced new import tariffs of 10 percent and 12.5 percent on 60 trading partners, including the Netherlands and other European Union Member States. The Trump administration says the new tariffs are due to trading partners’ lax enforcement of forced-labor laws.

According to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the U.S. strictly enforces a ban on products made using forced labor, and it is “high time” that its trading partners did the same. Countries that have already implemented a ban on forced labor will face import tariffs of 10 percent. This includes the Netherlands and the rest of the EU. Other countries, including China, Japan, and Brazil, will face 12.5 percent.

What the new tariffs will mean for Dutch companies in concrete terms remains unclear. Trade agreements between the U.S. and EU have been in effect since July 1. The EU significantly reduced its tariffs on American products, and most European tariffs are taxed at 15 percent in the U.S. It is unclear how the new forced labor tariffs affect these agreements.

The new tariffs are the culmination of a search that has been underway in the American government for months. “President Trump relies heavily on import tariffs for his trade policy and is constantly looking for a legal basis to get away with it,” Elmar Otten of business association Evofenedex told NOS.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down president Donald Trump’s previous approach, declaring that imposing separate import tariffs on each individual country was illegal. Trump then resorted to another law, introducing a temporary 10 percent levy on products from abroad. Without Congressional approval, he was only allowed to do this for 150 days. That term expires today, July 24, hence the new announcement.

For the new tariffs, the Trump administration is falling back on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, according to the broadcaster. This gives the president the authority to impose import duties on countries guilty of “unjust,” “unreasonable,” or “discriminatory” trade practices. Trump is citing lax enforcement of the ban on forced labor.

Customs expert Martijn Schipers told NOS that it goes quite far to accuse the EU of forced labor, but it makes it more complicated to declare the import tariffs unlawful. “These tariffs are much harder to challenge because they were preceded by a thorough investigation.”