Trump Announces New Tariffs On Countries Using Forced Labor
President Donald Trump is expanding his use of tariffs to pressure foreign governments into cracking down on goods produced through forced labor while strengthening protections for American workers.
Under the new policy, imports from roughly 60 countries will face tariffs of either 10% or 12.5% beginning at 12:01 a.m. on July 24.
Countries that have adopted or begun enforcing bans on forced-labor imports will generally retain the lower 10% rate. Nations that have failed to implement comparable protections will face the higher 12.5% duty.
“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,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“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,” he noted further.
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the 10% rate will apply to imports from Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
Certain products imported from European Union member states, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland will face either the 10% or 12.5% rate. Most other countries covered by the policy will receive the higher tariff.
An administration official said India qualified for the lower rate after adopting legislation intended to prevent forced-labor goods from entering its supply chains.
The action reflects Trump’s broader “carrot and stick” trade strategy, rewarding countries that cooperate with American standards while imposing additional costs on governments that refuse to address abusive labor practices.
“It encourages stronger labor rights enforcement abroad,” one official told The Post of the so-called Section 301 approach.
“It will restore fairness in the global market for American workers. And it incentivizes our trading partners to join the United States in eliminating forced labor from global supply chains,” the official said.
“For nearly a century, the United States has prohibited imports made in whole or in part with forced labor,” the official noted further.
The administration is imposing the duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 following an investigation involving at least 60 countries.
The strategy provides Trump with another legal mechanism for pursuing his trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed under emergency powers.
Oil and natural gas imports will be exempt from the new duties.
Administration officials also said the tariffs will not be added on top of existing Section 232 duties covering products such as steel and aluminum. Those tariffs were imposed separately on national-security grounds.
Although the new policy will affect approximately 99% of U.S. imports, officials said major economic disruption is not expected because the rates remain close to those already in place under the temporary tariff structure.
The announcement comes after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports earlier in the week, further demonstrating his willingness to use access to the American market as leverage in negotiations with foreign governments.
The Supreme Court also recently declined to hear a challenge to tariffs imposed on Chinese goods during Trump’s first term, leaving those measures in place.
The administration’s latest action broadens the purpose of American tariff policy beyond trade deficits and foreign subsidies. It makes clear that countries benefiting from the U.S. economy will also be expected to confront forced labor and protect basic human dignity.