People watch as the Doris Ocean container ship departs from the Port of Los Angeles on May 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies over their failure to ban goods made with forced labor, in a sweeping action that would hurt most trading partners including China, the European Union and Japan.
The determination, made under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, found that all 60 countries have failed to impose or effectively enforce a prohibition on forced labor-related imports, creating what it called an “unlevel playing field” for American workers.
USTR has proposed a 10% duty rate for economies that have adopted a full or partial prohibition on forced labor trade, and 12.5% for all other economies.
The trade authority also proposed a separate textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from some economies to enter the U.S. at reduced rates.
“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,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“We will no longer tolerate this disparity. Some trading partners have taken initial steps to prevent the importation of forced labor goods, including through USMCA and commitments in Agreements on Reciprocal Trade. However, each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labor globally.”
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