Trump’s Tariffs on 60 Countries Adopt Method Justice Brett Kavanaugh Laid Out in SCOTUS Ruling

The tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on 60 countries Thursday night utilize one of the mechanisms that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh laid out in the dissent of February’s Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs.

Trump imposed the latest tariffs, ranging from 10-12.5 percent, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. They follow an investigation under Section 301 finding failure to prevent the importation of goods as a result of forced labor in the respective countries.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is one of the pathways forward that Kavanaugh highlighted in the dissent when the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s worldwide International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which he imposed on April 2, 2025.

Kavanaugh wrote:

Although I firmly disagree with the Court’s holding today, the decision might not substantially constrain a President’s ability to order tariffs going forward. That is because numerous other federal statutes authorize the President to impose tariffs and might justify most (if not all) of the tariffs at issue in this case — albeit perhaps with a few additional procedural steps that IEEPA, as an emergency statute, does not require. Those statutes include, for example, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232); the Trade Act of 1974 (Sections 122, 201, and 301); and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 338). In essence, the Court today concludes that the President checked the wrong statutory box by relying on IEEPA rather than another statute to impose these tariffs.

The rate for each country is as follows, per Trump’s memorandum:

1. Algeria: 12.5 percent
2. Angola: 12.5 percent
3. Argentina: 10 percent
4. Australia: 12.5 percent
5. The Bahamas: 12.5 percent
6. Bahrain: 12.5 percent
7. Bangladesh: 10 percent
8. Brazil: 12.5 percent
9. Cambodia: 10 percent
10. Canada: 10 percent
11. Chile: 12.5 percent
12. China, People’s Republic of
13. Colombia: 12.5 percent
14. Costa Rica: 12.5 percent
15. Dominican Republic: 12.5 percent
16. Ecuador: 10 percent
17. Egypt: 12.5 percent
18. El Salvador: 10 percent
19. European Union: 10-12.5 percent
20. Guatemala: 10 percent
21. Guyana: 12.5 percent
22. Honduras: 10 percent
23. Hong Kong, China
24. India: 10 percent
25. Indonesia: 10 percent
26. Iraq: 12.5 percent
27. Israel: 12.5 percent
28. Japan: 10-12.5 percent
29. Jordan: 10 percent
30. Kazakhstan: 12.5 percent
31. Kuwait: 12.5 percent
32. Libya: 12.5 percent
33. Malaysia: 10 percent
34. Mexico: 10 percent
35. Morocco: 12.5 percent
36. New Zealand: 12.5 percent
37. Nicaragua: 12.5 percent
38. Nigeria: 12.5 percent
39. Norway: 12.5 percent
40. Oman: 12.5 percent
41. Pakistan: 10 percent
42. Peru: 12.5 percent
43. Philippines: 12.5 percent
44. Qatar: 12.5 percent
45. Russia: 12.5 percent
46. Saudi Arabia: 12.5 percent
47. Singapore: 12.5 percent
48. South Africa: 12.5 percent
49. South Korea: 10-12.5 percent
50. Sri Lanka: 10 percent
51. Switzerland: 10-12.5 percent
52. Taiwan: 10-12.5 percent
53. Thailand: 12.5 percent
54. Trinidad and Tobago: 10 percent
55. Türkiye: 12.5 percent
56. United Arab Emirates
57. United Kingdom: 10 percent
58. Uruguay: 12.5 percent
59. Venezuela: 12.5 percent
60. Vietnam: 12.5 percent

On February 20, hours after the court struck down his IEEPA tariffs, Trump said he would keep all Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs in place and launch additional Section 301 investigations. Those investigations commenced on March 12.