USTR to add tariffs on 60 countries alleging forced labor violations
by Lisa Hornung · UPIJune 3 (UPI) -- The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed new tariffs of up to 12% on 60 countries it accuses of allowing forced labor.
The move targets many trade partners of the United States, including China, the European Union and Japan.
The decision would add the tariffs on countries it alleges failed to enforce a ban on forced labor-related imports, which has caused an "unlevel playing field" for American workers. It would put a 10% tariff on economies with a full or partial ban on forced labor and 12.5% on all others under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a press release.
"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," Greer said in a statement. "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."
The agency is also planning a separate textile rule that would allow a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from some economies at a reduced rate.
Section 301 allows the United States to impose tariffs in response to unfair trade practices.
The President Donald Trump administration has launched Section 301 investigations on more than a dozen countries since February, when the Supreme Court said his previous tariffs were illegal. He then created 10% global tariffs and raised them to 15%, but that was struck down by the U.S. Court of International Trade. Those tariffs are scheduled to expire in July anyway.
Section 301 requires the government to conduct investigations on each country, then have consultations and hearings before the tariffs can go into effect. Public hearings are scheduled for July 7.
In a separate move, the federal government also started seeking public comments on a new U.S.-China Board of Trade which would "manage bilateral trade between the United States and China on an ongoing basis." The measure was decided during Trump's visit to China last month.
On Tuesday, the agency announced a proposed 25% tariff on Brazilian imports, saying the country had engaged in unfair trade practices.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump participate in a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo