The tariffs, which replace an identical levy which expires on Friday, are based on claims key economic partners have failed to properly tackle forced labour. But US trade expert Caroline Freund said the move is "not about forced labour" but that Trump is simply "looking for a legal reason to put the tariffs in". The 10%-12.5% duties on imports were proposed last month by the White House and over concerns they were not doing enough to tackle forced labour. "Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. The new duties apply to the top 60 US trade partners covering 99.4% of US imports, the Office of the US Trade Representative said.