US unveils new tariffs on 60 partners, including Pakistan, over forced labour concerns

US Imposes New Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners Over Forced Labor Concerns

The United States announced on Thursday that it would impose new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, over concerns about forced labor. The levies, which range from 10% to 12.5%, take effect Friday, according to multiple reports.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said the tariffs are the outcome of a Section 301 investigation into whether these countries had failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods made with forced labor. USTR Jamieson Greer said in a statement, "The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same."

Greer added, "Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

The new duties replace a temporary 10% global tariff that was due to expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday. That temporary tariff had been imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down a host of President Donald Trump's earlier tariffs in February, according to reports.

The tariffs cover more than 99% of U.S. imports, according to one report. Economies that have adopted or committed to forced-labor import restrictions, such as Argentina, India, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom, face a 10% tariff. Others, including China, most of the Middle East, much of Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia, face a 12.5% tariff. The European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland face rates that, combined with pre-existing most-favored-nation tariffs, would total either 10% or 12.5%, depending on the product.

Goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as well as steel, aluminum, automobiles, civilian aircraft, and rare earth minerals, are exempt, according to one report.

The new tariffs received swift condemnation from several target countries. Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Tokyo "regrets" the tariffs, given the higher rate is "solely on the grounds that there is no ban on the import of products produced through forced labour." Australia's trade minister Don Farrell said the higher tariffs are "completely unjustified and we will continue to lobby the United States Trade Representative to remove all tariffs on Australian goods." New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the tariffs on his country "extremely disappointing," unjustified, and harmful to trade.

The EU, which earlier signed a trade pact with the United States, expects Washington "will honor the commitments that are spelled out under the EU-US Joint Statement," according to a report.

The Trump administration has moved swiftly to rebuild the president's tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down his duties in February. The new measures were initially proposed in June and are considered more resistant to legal challenges than earlier moves, according to reports. Washington is also conducting a separate Section 301 investigation into excess industrial capacity in 16 economies, which could lead to additional duties, reports said.