US will uphold tariff caps in deals with EU, Japan and others, U.S. trade chief says

The United States will respect the tariff caps in trade deals struck with the European Union, Japan and other countries and planned U.S. tariffs over forced labour provide the legal basis to do so, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday.

"We understand that a deal is a deal," Greer told reporters on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris.

The United States has struck deals with the the European Union and Japan that limit U.S. tariffs on most EU or Japanese imports to a maximum of 15%.

However, Greer's office on Tuesday unveiled a new set of tariffs economies after determining that they failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour. The EU would face a 10% tariff and Japan 12.5%. A further Section 301 investigation into excess manufacturing capacity could see overall tariffs on the two economies' goods push well past 15%.

Greer, talking about the EU trade deal, said the agreement acknowledged that the United States could impose tariffs "up to a certain level" and that the Section 301 investigations gave U.S. President Donald Trump the authorities to do so.