Trump Administration Cites Forced Labor For New Tariffs on Dozens of Countries

The Trump administration is proposing new tariffs on dozens of countries claiming they are producing goods with forced labor.The office of the United States Trade Representative is proposing 10 percent to 12.5 percent tariffs on 60 nations using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.That section of law allows investigations of countries for perceived violations of trade agreements. The most recent investigation found 54 countries failed to impose and effectively enforce an importation of goods produced with forced labor. Some of the trading partners on the list include Australia, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.Six other economies were found to have rules in place but failed to effectively enforce the prohibition on the use of forced labor in production. Among that group are Canada, the European Union, Indonesia, and Mexico.“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said in a statement. “We will no longer tolerate this disparity.”Dozens of international trade agreements and national laws ban the use of forced labor. Yet the investigatory report by the trade office cites International Labor Organization statistics noting that 27.6 million people across the globe are subjected to forced labor, with 86 percent occurring in the private economy. The investigation states that the use of forced labor eliminates compliance costs, artificially lowering the cost of goods and distorting the market. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Beijing on Wednesday denied accusations that its industries engage in forced labor. “There is no such thing as forced labor in China, and we oppose using it as an excuse to engage in political manipulation,” Mao Ning told reporters at a press briefing.European Parliament member Bernd Lange slammed the rationale for the new tariffs. “Accusing the EU of all places of insufficient action against forced labor, even though we have adopted the world’s strictest rules against products from forced labor, is absurd,” Mr. Lange said in an X post.The British Chambers of Commerce said the good news is that it appears the Trump administration is simply changing the mechanism used for the tariffs and not increasing the overall tariff rates. “It is no surprise that the US is taking action, before its temporary section 122 measures expire, to make its broad 10% tariff on most imports more permanent,” the chambers said in a statement. Section 301 is a powerful tool, but requires a country-by-country examination of unfair trade practices. Once investigations are launched, U.S. officials hold meetings with individual governments in question, collect evidence, and attempt to resolve the issue through negotiation. If that doesn’t end with a satisfactory resolution, Section 301 tariffs can be imposed indefinitely, subject to a quadrennial review. Previous use of the tariff law has withstood legal challenges.The report filed by the trade office indicates that it started individual investigations on all of the targeted countries in March, and is consolidating all of the case reports into a single hearing on July 7. Written comments will be accepted up to July 6. Requests to appear at the hearing are due on June 22.That hearing will come a day after another Section 301 hearing on whether a new 25 percent tariff can be imposed on nearly half of Brazilian goods imported to the United States. Mr. Greer, on Monday, announced the proposed tariff after an investigation found certain acts, policies, and practices by the South American country unfair and restricted American commerce.The use of Section 301 comes in response to a divided Supreme Court decision in February, which struck down Mr. Trump’s first round of global tariffs announced as part of his April 2025 “Liberation Day” executive order that applied baseline 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods and country-specific tariffs of up to 50 percent. A 6-3 decision found that the president was not justified in using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy the fees. A federal court blocked implementation of another set of 10 percent tariffs Mr. Trump announced after his first tariff defeat. Those tariffs relied on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Trump Administration Cites Forced Labor For New Tariffs on Dozens of Countries

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