U.S. proposes fresh tariffs on 60 economies over forced labor trade practices
People watch the container ship Doris Ocean leave the Port of Los Angeles on May 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Office of the US Trade Representative, Recommended additional tariffs up to 12.5% In a sweeping action that will hurt most of its trading partners, including China, the European Union and Japan, it has imposed sanctions on imports from 60 economies for failing to ban goods produced using forced labour.
The ruling, made under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, found that not all 60 countries had implemented or effectively enforced a ban on imports involving forced labor, creating an “unlevel playing field” for American workers.
USTR proposed a tax rate of 10% for economies that fully or partially prohibit the trade in forced labor and 12.5% for all other economies.
The trade authority has also proposed a separate textile mechanism that would allow certain amounts of apparel and textile imports from some economies to enter the United States at reduced rates.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address imports of goods produced with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic in which American workers are forced to compete globally in an unequal competitive environment,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“We will no longer tolerate this inequality. Some of our trading partners have taken initial steps to prevent imports of forced labor goods, including through commitments in the USMCA and Reciprocal Trade Agreements. However, each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labor globally.”
This is an evolving story. Please refresh for updates.
