Breaking: US confirms new 12.5pc tariff for Australia

The Trump administration has confirmed a 12.5 per cent tariff will be placed on Australian exports to the US from later today.The new levy will replace a temporary 10 per cent tariff that was set to expire at the same time.Dozens of other countries will also be hit with new tariffs, which were first proposed last month after a US trade investigation into forced labour.The US has now announced the proposed tariff will take effect from 12:01am Friday, local time (2:01pm Friday AEST). But some countries, including the UK, will only be subject to a smaller 10 per cent tariff.The Trump administration argues the US is introducing the tariff to take action against forced labour and slavery. It argues the US doing its part to combat forced labour but other countries are not, putting American companies at a competitive disadvantage.However, many analysts say US President Donald Trump is simply trying to replace the tariffs that were invalidated by the US Supreme Court earlier this year, and the forced labour investigation is merely a pretext."As expected, the administration is well on its way toward ensuring that, through a patchwork of investigations, the United States will ultimately have tariffs similar to those [previous tariffs]," Council on Foreign Relations president Michael Froman recently wrote.US ignores Australia's requestThe Australian government had asked the US not to go ahead with the proposed tariff.In a formal submission to the US trade representative earlier this month, Australia reiterated its opposition to Mr Trump's tariffs, which have created a sore point in a traditionally strong bilateral friendship.The submission argued the strength of the US-Australia relationship meant Australia "should not be subject to the proposed action, or any tariff measure whatsoever", and that such measures would go against the bilateral free trade agreement.The submission also pointed to the US's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses a country's efforts to prevent forced labour and has consistently given Australia the best possible rating.It also argued Australia had been working constructively with the US on trade issues, pointing to recently relaxed restrictions on American beef imports, and the critical minerals framework deal signed at the White House last year."The strength of this economic relationship … means that Australia should not be subject to the proposed action, or any tariff measure whatsoever," it said.