The Trump administration has imposed new tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, prompting criticism from countries including Australia, China and New Zealand. The measures matter because they heighten trade tensions with major economies and could increase costs for businesses and consumers importing affected goods.

The new duties, set at 10% or 12.5%, were introduced over allegations that countries had inadequately enforced bans on forced-labour goods, as a temporary 10% global tariff expired. Australia rejected the allegation and called the higher tariff unjustified; China opposed unilateral tariffs, while New Zealand described the move as disappointing and harmful to trade. The tariffs reportedly exempt more than 2,000 product categories in some cases, potentially limiting their immediate economic impact.