US tariffs from July 24: Vietnam lands in the 12.5% tier

New US tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 economies took effect on July 24, replacing the temporary 10% rate in place since early this year. The US Trade Representative signed the final action on July 23 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, after finding that the investigated partners failed to effectively ban imports made with forced labor. Vietnam did not make the 10% list. From today, most Vietnamese cargo landing at US ports pays 12.5%, a 2.5-point jump on last week.

The action rebuilds the tariff wall Washington lost in February 2026, when the US Supreme Court struck down the previous reciprocal-tariff mechanism and the administration fell back on a temporary 10% rate. The legal footing has changed entirely. USTR ran 60 parallel Section 301 investigations, found each partner had failed to adopt or enforce a forced labor import ban, and used those findings as the basis for duties. The 60 partners under investigation account for 99.4% of total US imports, so nearly everything entering the market is caught. Ambassador Jamieson Greer put it bluntly: decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains.

USTR split the 60 economies into two tiers. The 10% tier holds 17 partners that ban forced labor imports, committed to do so through trade negotiations, or built partial regimes: Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom. Everyone else, Vietnam and China included, pays 12.5%. For the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland, certain products are assessed net of existing MFN duties, with details in the Federal Register notice.

None of this is a surprise. USTR already placed Vietnam in the 12.5% tier in its June proposal, citing the absence of a forced labor import ban that meets US requirements. The door down is open, though. The tier criteria say it plainly: a partner that adopts and enforces an import ban, or commits to one in negotiations, qualifies for 10%. With 2.5 points at stake, expect this to become a live item in Vietnam-US trade talks.

Not every US-bound shipment pays the extra 12.5%. Per the USTR fact sheet, all articles and parts already subject to Section 232 tariffs, the steel, aluminum and national-security duties, are exempt from this action; the new tariff does not stack on top. Informational materials, donations and accompanied baggage also stay out. Beyond that sits a product exemption list built on five criteria, including raw materials the US cannot source domestically and goods in short supply at reasonable prices. The full list lives in the Federal Register notice, so before pricing 12.5% into anything, check each SKU's HS code against it.

The 2.5-point gap against India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh lands squarely on Vietnam's biggest order books: apparel, footwear and furniture. All four compete head-to-head with Vietnamese suppliers for US buyers, and all four just made the 10% tier. Apparel carries a second layer of risk: USTR's investigation record flags concern that cotton covered by the UFLPA reaches the US through intermediary manufacturers in third countries, Vietnam among them. Cotton traceability files are no longer just for shipments detained by US Customs; they are becoming table stakes in new order negotiations.

The 2.5-point gap against India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh lands squarely on Vietnam's biggest order books: apparel, footwear and furniture.

Solar is named for a different reason. The investigation cites cells and modules produced in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, that undergo only minor processing of Chinese-origin components before export to the US. Shippers in that sector should expect origin scrutiny to tighten at both ends. Steel and aluminum, by contrast, come out of this round least disturbed: goods already under Section 232 duties are fully exempt from the new 12.5%. Metal shippers should confirm with their US importer that their codes fall under 232 so nothing gets charged twice.

The duties are already in force, so unlike trade-defense cases still waiting on a ruling, there is no window to wait and see. The practical checklist:

• Reprice every US-bound quote at 12.5% instead of 10%, starting with DDP contracts already signed but not yet shipped.
• Check each SKU's HS code against the exemption list in the Federal Register notice before adding the duty to your costing.
• For steel, aluminum and other Section 232 goods, confirm with your US customs broker that the shipment is exempt from the new action.
• Strengthen raw-material traceability files, especially cotton origin for apparel and Chinese-origin components for solar.
• Track Vietnam-US talks on a forced labor import ban, the one variable that could move Vietnam to the 10% tier.

Homexim runs weekly US-bound cargo across apparel, furniture and industrial goods, from customs brokerage with origin files built to US partner standards, to FCL/LCL ocean freight on the trans-Pacific lane. If you need a landed-cost estimate under the new duties, send us your HS codes and lane. See our briefs on the final US plywood duties and July's hot rates to the US to cost every layer on the same route.