WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The United States on Friday imposed new tariffs of either 10 percent or 12.5 percent on goods from its top 60 trading partners, including China, Japan and the European Union, accusing them of failing to halt imports of goods made with forced labor.

The imposition came on the heels of the expiration of the 10 percent global tariff that President Donald Trump introduced in February shortly after the Supreme Court invalidated his sweeping country-specific "reciprocal" duties, as well as fentanyl-related levies against products from China, Canada and Mexico.

"President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

"The United States has had a forced-labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same," Greer said.

The targeted trading partners, also including Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand, account for about 99 percent of U.S. imports, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The tariff rates differ depending on the seriousness of forced labor allegations assessed by the administration.

While most of the U.S. partners will be hit by new 12.5 percent tariffs, about 20 others, including Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico, will face duties of 10 percent as the administration views them as having taken greater legal steps to prevent the import of goods suspected of being produced with forced labor.

Among its key Asian trading partners, the United States applied the higher rate to Japan and South Korea. But the two countries received special treatment, with items already subject to tariffs of 12.5 percent or higher being exempted from the new measure.

Unlike the U.S. allies, China did not receive preferential treatment, meaning the new tariff of 12.5 percent will be added on top of existing import taxes.

The new tariffs will not be applied to imports already hit by sector-specific duties that Trump has levied on national security grounds since his return to office in January last year, such as automobiles and steel products.

Certain imports, including food items, fertilizers and energy products, will also be exempt.

The U.S. administration launched trade investigations in March to replace a large chunk of Trump's far-reaching tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.

Greer and other senior officials have asserted that U.S. companies compete against foreign rivals on an uneven playing field, claiming many trading partners have reduced costs by making use of forced labor.

In addition to the forced labor probe, the administration has been looking into what it sees as unfair practices related to excess industrial capacity in 16 economies, including China, India, Japan, Vietnam and the EU.

Following the stinging defeat at the top court, the administration imposed the 10 percent tariff under a different legal authority, but it was permitted to last only 150 days unless Congress approved an extension.

The temporary tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows a president to impose import taxes of up to 15 percent to address "large and serious" balance-of-payments deficits, was due to expire on Friday.

While imposing the blanket tariff, the administration had been exploring more durable country-by-country duties, using Section 301 of the trade law.

The statute, which allows the U.S. government to impose tariffs in response to a foreign country's alleged unfair practices, was a favorite tool of Trump for justifying higher levies on Chinese imports when he started a trade war with Beijing during his first term as president.