Washington — The Trump administration is proposing to impose tariffs of 10% or more on products from dozens of major trading partners after investigating imports of goods allegedly made using forced labor.
The report released by the US Trade Representative early Wednesday said Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and some other countries would face additional 10% tariffs for failing to enforce a ban on the import of forced labor.
An additional 12.5% tariff will be imposed on China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, Switzerland and dozens of other countries.
“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,” USTR Ambassador Jamison Greer said in a statement.
“Each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and promote forced labor globally,” he added.
The new tariffs will not take effect immediately. It is subject to public comment and review.
The investigation into the alleged failure to prevent imports of goods allegedly made with forced labor was conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This strategy would enable US President Donald Trump to circumvent restrictions on his tariffs imposed by the Supreme Court.
The report defined forced labor as “work or service that is imposed on a person under the threat of any penalty for not performing it, and which the worker does not volunteer to perform voluntarily.”
The Supreme Court ruled last February that Trump had done so Exceeded his powers This is by using a different law – the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 – to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners.