U.S. launches fresh Section 301 probes into 60 economies over forced-labor trade practices
U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, February 5, 2026 in Washington, DC, United States.
Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The United States on Thursday announced new stateside trade investigations into 60 economies, calling them investigations aimed at determining whether those economies are failing to curb imports of goods produced with forced labor.
According to a statement from the United States Trade Representative, the investigations conducted under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 include China, the European Union, India and Mexico.
“Despite international consensus against forced labor, governments have failed to implement and effectively enforce measures that prohibit goods produced with forced labor from entering their markets,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to ban the importation of goods produced using forced labor and how failure to eliminate these heinous practices impacts U.S. workers and businesses,” he said.
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