US proposes tariffs on 60 countries over exports of goods made with forced labour

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday proposed new tariffs on imports from 60 countries. Investigations, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said, found goods entering the US from those economies were produced with forced labour.

The USTR announced a proposal for additional duties of 10% and 12.5% on products from the affected economies. The USTR listed 54 economies it said have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour. The list includes Australia, China, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar and Russia, and names Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom among others.

The USTR said economies that already have some form of forced labour import prohibition, or have committed to implementing such measures through trade agreements, could face an additional tariff of 10%, while other economies may face a 12.5% additional duty. The proposed action also includes a textile mechanism that would allow a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from some economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate.

The agency said the measures are being taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to acts, policies and practices it said amount to a failure to impose and prohibit goods produced with forced labour, which the USTR called unreasonable and a burden on US commerce. As a result of its investigations, the USTR proposed additional duties on all products of the investigated economies and invited public comments on the move.

"For economies that impose a forced labour import prohibition, that have committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, or economies that have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labor goods, the US Trade Representative proposes 10% as the rate of additional duties. For all other economies, the US Trade Representative proposes 12.5% as the rate of additional duty. The US Trade Representative also proposes a textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from certain economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate," the statement said.

The USTR singled out six economies for having failed to effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour, naming the European Union, Pakistan and Canada among them.

"The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field," said Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

The proposed tariffs come as Indian negotiators prepare to press for preferential market access in talks with a visiting US team to finalise a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Sources told ANI that trade relief from US Section 301 investigations will be high on the agenda for the June 1–4 talks led by US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch and India's Additional Secretary Darpan Jain.

According to India's Ministry of Commerce, the round will finalise details of an interim pact and advance negotiations under the broader BTA on market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion and economic security alignment.

(With inputs from RSS/ANI)