U.S. trade office proposes forced labour tariffs on 60 countries

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U.S. forced labour tariffs proposal

Highlights

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative plans to impose 10% to 12.5% tariffs on 60 countries over forced labour concerns.
Major economies including China, the EU, India, Japan, and the UK are named among those targeted by the Section 301 tariffs proposal.
Tariffs will not take immediate effect, as a public comment process allows business groups and foreign governments to contest or support the plan before imposition.

Section 301 plan targets major trading partners

As reported by Financial Times, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it intends to impose tariffs on 60 countries over what it describes as inadequate efforts to stop imports made with forced labour. The proposed duties range from 10% to 12.5% and are meant to address what the agency says is an uneven competitive environment for U.S. workers.

U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer said the failure of key trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable. He said the situation leaves American workers competing globally on an unlevel playing field.

The proposal names several major economies among those affected, including China, the EU, India, Japan and the UK. It marks the first significant attempt by the administration to restore sweeping levies since the court ruling in April against most of the tariffs announced on "liberation day" last year.

Public comment process delays any immediate tariffs

The USTR is using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the White House to investigate the trade practices of foreign partners and respond with trade measures. That legal route provides a fresh basis for action after the Supreme Court blocked the earlier tariff package.

Under the Trade Act, the levies cannot take effect immediately and must first go through a public comment process. That means the proposal opens a new trade policy fight while leaving room for business groups, foreign governments and other stakeholders to challenge or support the plan before any duties are imposed.

Our earlier coverage on the U.S.-China Board of Trade plan detailed how the U.S. Trade Representative opened a public consultation on potential tariff adjustments, with comments due by July 10. The process aims to identify roughly $30 billion in “non-sensitive” goods on each side that could qualify for lower tariffs without crossing economic, supply-chain, or national security red lines, and asks stakeholders to provide import data and assess sector-level impacts.

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