The U.S. has imposed new tariffs
The U.S. has adopted new tariffs on 60 economies, effective today. The rates are 10 or 12.5 per cent. Norway has not concluded a trade agreement with the US and faces a 12.5 per cent add-on without the upper cap the EU and other agreement countries have.
July 24, 2026
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, U.S. Official Photo
Background to the new tariffs
At midnight, the general US tariff (10%) expired, as it had only temporary legal authority under Section 122.
The EU, and several other countries, have concluded bilateral trade agreements that secure an upper cap for the new general tariff.
Some economies remain without an agreement. Brazil was the first of these to face new tariffs, being subjected on 15 July to a general tariff of 25% under Section 301. The tariff took effect on 22 July and follows statutory investigations; Unreasonable Acts, Policies, and Practices.
Canada was subjected on 20 July to a 50% tariff on selected goods under Section 338. The tariff takes effect on 19 August and applies regardless of the USMCA (the U.S./Mexico/Canada agreement from 2020). The basis is discriminatory treatment of American goods (this authority does not require a statutory investigation). This tariff comes in addition to the new general tariff below.
General tariff for 60 economies
Yesterday the U.S. issued its decision in the forced labor investigations under Section 301. The tariff covers all goods from 60 countries (with certain exemptions) and took effect today, 24 July. Goods already in transit are exempt provided they clear customs by 28 July.
The U.S. already has an ordinary tariff rate (MFN) on each individual product, governed by WTO rules. It varies from product to product and is mostly zero or very low. The new general tariff comes as an add-on to this.
The tariff is divided into three groups:
10 per cent for countries that have introduced an import ban on goods produced with forced labour, or that have committed to introducing such a ban through a trade agreement with the U.S., or that have rules partially preventing such imports. This applies to Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom. The tariff comes as an add-on to the MFN tariff described above.
10 per cent for the EU and Taiwan, 12.5 per cent for Japan, Korea and Switzerland, but here as a cap on what the tariff can amount to in total, not as a fixed add-on. If a product carries 5% in MFN tariff, the add-on becomes 5% or 7.5% respectively.
12.5 per cent for the remaining countries, Norway among them. Here there is no cap; the rate is placed on top of the MFN tariff however high it may be.
The consequences for Norway
Norway received neither a deduction, nor a cap, nor a place in the 10 per cent group. The United Kingdom, which was in the same category as Norway before the decision, was moved down to 10 per cent.
For goods that currently enter the U.S. duty-free (fresh salmon, frozen fish, oil and gas), the difference against the EU is 2.5 percentage points. Where the MFN tariff is positive, the gap widens: smoked salmon carries 5% + 12.5% = 17.5%, against the EU's 10 per cent. This will apply to a small number of product groups.
Through the Turnberry agreement the EU has a cap of 15 per cent; this cap was not reached on this occasion. Both the 10 per cent group and the group with a cap consist mainly of countries that have concluded a trade agreement with the U.S., in which the commitment to an import ban on goods produced with forced labor forms one of the conditions.
Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated earlier today that it is entirely unreasonable for Norway to be placed in the 12.5 per cent group, given that Norway will implement the same forced labor legislation as the EU through the EEA Agreement. But the EU, which does have a trade agreement with the U.S., will not enforce this legislation until December 2027.
Norway, which has not concluded a trade agreement with the U.S., is now seeing the consequences of not having one. Despite the first negotiating deadline having expired on 31 July last year, it has been possible to negotiate a trade agreement. The Labour government has still not explained why an agreement has not been concluded.
The U.S. has authority for further tariffs
Two new tariffs may be imposed before long. The first concerns tariffs for excess capacity under Section 301, where the statutory investigation and the tariff rate have still not been concluded. The second is a tariff under Section 232 following Proclamation 11001, which provides the authority to impose tariffs if a country has not concluded a minerals agreement.
The deadlock between Norway and the U.S. follows from the conflict between the EU and the U.S. over critical minerals; read the latest on this situation here.
RELATED ARTICLES
SOURCES
Office of the United States Trade Representative
Fact Sheet: USTR Section 301 Action in Response to the Failure of 60 Economies to Ban Imports Produced with Forced LaborOffice of the United States Trade Representative
Section 301 Action in Response to Brazil's Unreasonable Acts, Policies, and PracticesOffice of the United States Trade Representative
Section 301 – Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illegal DeforestationThe White House
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Additional Tariffs on CanadaEUR-Lex
Ban on forced labour products on the EU market — Regulation (EU) 2024/3015Federal Register
Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems (Proclamation 11012)Federal Register
Initiation of Section 301 Investigations: Structural Excess Capacity and Production in Manufacturing SectorsFederal Register
Adjusting Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and Their Derivative Products into the United States (Proclamation 11001)Federal Register
Notice of Determinations and Request for Comments Concerning Actions in Section 301 InvestigationsOffice of the United States Trade Representative
Report on Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure to Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced LaborFederal Register
Initiation of Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to Forced LaborU.S. Department of Homeland Security
2025 Update to the UFLPA Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People's Republic of China
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