US imposes 10% tariff on Sri Lankan goods from today
An additional 10% U.S. tariff on most goods imported from Sri Lanka takes effect today (July 24) as part of a wider action covering 60 major trading partners over forced-labour import controls.
The tariff was imposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sri Lanka was given the lower 10% rate after it introduced a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour following consultations with the United States.
The U.S. had initially considered imposing a 12.5% tariff on Sri Lankan goods. However, USTR said Sri Lanka’s decision to introduce the prohibition after the proposed tariffs were published on June 5 was taken into account when setting the final rate.
The 10% tariff is intended to encourage Sri Lanka to effectively enforce the new prohibition.
The additional duty applies to Sri Lankan products entered for consumption in the United States, or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption, from 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time today.
However, goods that were loaded onto a vessel and were already in their final stage of transit before that time will not face the additional tariff if they enter the United States before 12:01 a.m. on July 28.
The tariff will apply to most Sri Lankan exports to the United States, although several products are exempt.
The exemptions include informational materials, donations, accompanied baggage and goods already covered by tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act.
Certain raw materials, products that could cause major supply disruptions, goods that cannot be produced in sufficient quantities in the United States and products specifically listed in the U.S. tariff annexes are also exempt.
Along with Sri Lanka, a direct 10% tariff has been imposed on goods from Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
Products from the European Union and Taiwan are also placed under a system that limits the combined existing tariff and the new tariff to 10%.
A 12.5% tariff applies to goods from Algeria, Angola, Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guyana, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Japan, South Korea and Switzerland are also in the 12.5% category. However, their combined existing and new tariffs will be limited to 12.5%.
The 60 affected trading partners account for about 99.4% of all goods imported into the United States.
USTR launched investigations into the 60 economies on March 12, 2026, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
On June 2, USTR determined that their policies related to forced-labour imports were unreasonable and placed a burden or restriction on U.S. trade.
The decision followed two rounds of public hearings, consultations with more than 45 governments and over 2,100 public comments.
The final stage of the process included more than 1,600 written comments and testimony from over 100 witnesses during hearings held on July 7, 8 and 9.
The Trump administration said countries that had adopted or committed to adopting forced-labour import prohibitions would receive the lower 10% tariff. Countries that had not taken such action would generally face the higher 12.5% rate.
USTR also plans to establish three-year tariff-rate quotas for certain textile and apparel imports from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Under the proposed system, a certain quantity of textile and apparel products from those countries could enter the United States without the additional tariff, based on their purchases of U.S. cotton and textile materials.
The quotas are expected to become possible by September 1, 2026. Until they are introduced, the 10% tariff will apply to the affected textile and apparel products.
The new tariffs take effect as a temporary global U.S. tariff expires today.
That temporary measure was introduced after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several of Trump’s earlier tariffs in February. The temporary tariff could remain in force for only 150 days without approval from the U.S. Congress.
The new tariffs are generally paid by U.S. importers, who may recover the cost by increasing prices charged to consumers.
When the temporary global tariff was introduced, the Yale Budget Lab estimated that it could add about US$ 800 to the costs faced by an average U.S. household during its 150-day period.
The latest action also follows several other tariff announcements by the Trump administration.
A 50% tariff was imposed on selected Canadian goods, including wine and hockey sticks, on Monday. Trump announced a planned 100% tariff on generic drugs from 2028 on Tuesday, while a 25% tariff on selected Brazilian goods, including apparel and agricultural machinery, took effect on Wednesday.
