The Trump administration replaced its temporary round of global tariffs with a new set of international trade duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The tariffs, which went into effect on July 24, impact at least 50% of imported goods from 60 nations, with rates ranging from 10% to 12.5%, either as an additional duty or a combined rate. The federal government claims that the new duties are in reaction to countries that failed to stop importing goods produced with forced labor.
President Trump first implemented a sweeping round of global tariffs at the start of 2025, with fears of a trade war brewing as he called for 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on China. In April 2025, Trump released a slew of global reciprocal tariffs, ranging from 10% to 46%. However, by November, he had begun to lift the tariffs on certain food items, like beef and coffee. In February of this year, the Supreme Court struck down the sweeping global tariffs. Trump attempted to circumvent this decision by invoking Section 301 and implementing another round of temporary tariffs, which expired after 150 days.
This latest invocation of the Section 301 trade law replaces the lapsed February tariffs.
U.S. trading partners with new additional tariffs include the United Kingdom (10%), Brazil (25%), China, and Russia. President Trump announced a special 50% tariff on Canadian goods, targeting cars, dairy, and alcohol on July 20, though it has not been implemented yet.
Most food and fuel/energy products are exempt from the new tariffs, including tropical fruits, bread, and beef and coffee from Brazil. However, operators could still see costs of goods like commercial kitchen equipment, refrigeration units, and paper goods impacted. Additionally, items like seafood, many baked goods, and alcohol are not covered by exemptions.
“The hardest part of this round isn't the rate, it's the unpredictability, and by now there's real tariff fatigue setting in,” Kevin Slaughter, an attorney with Levenfeld Pearlstein, said in an interview with Restaurant Business. “A food company can absorb a known cost; what it can't plan around is a number that keeps moving. And a lot of the pain is still arriving, as much of the margin impact lags the headlines by a year or more, as existing inventory and fixed-price contracts roll off, so even where rates have eased the effect is only now fully landing.”
So, what can operators do in response to this? Much of the advice remains the same as last year: diversification of suppliers and preparation for the constantly-changing duties before they are implemented.
“The operators handling it well started re-qualifying alternate suppliers before they needed them, so a tariff change is an adjustment instead of a scramble, and you're seeing more private-label and reformulation moves to manage exposure,” Slaughter said. "The companies that built trust across their supply chain ahead of time are the ones able to pick up the phone and solve a sourcing problem together when it hits.”
Multiple small businesses — including a New York-based spice company — have already filed lawsuits against the federal government, challenging the legality of these new “forced labor” tariffs.
Contact Joanna at joanna.fantozzi@informa.com
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