KUALA LUMPUR — The United States has proposed imposing additional tariffs of either 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 economies after concluding that their efforts to address trade involving goods produced with forced labour are inadequate and create barriers to US commerce.
The proposal, announced by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday, is the latest outcome of a Section 301 investigation into alleged unfair trade practices. It comes as the Trump administration seeks to re-establish emergency tariffs that were invalidated by a US Supreme Court ruling in February, Bernama reported.
Under the proposal, a 10% tariff would be imposed on imports from 15 economies, including Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Taiwan and Britain.
The USTR said an additional 12.5% duty would apply to imports from the remaining 45 economies covered by the investigation.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field.”
The agency also proposed introducing a textile mechanism that would permit a specified volume of apparel and textile imports to enter the United States at a reduced tariff rate. However, details on the tariff levels and import quotas have yet to be disclosed.
The announcement comes ahead of the July 24 expiry of a temporary 10% tariff introduced by the Trump administration on February 20, the same day the US Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Earlier this week, the USTR proposed a 25% duty on a range of Brazilian imports following a separate Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s digital trade policies and preferential tariff arrangements.
The agency is also expected to release findings from another major Section 301 investigation examining excess industrial capacity among 16 trading partners, including China.
According to the forced labour investigation, several product categories would be exempt from the proposed tariffs. These include energy products, rare earth materials and certain metals, beef, coffee, selected fruits and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals and aircraft components.
The USTR said it will accept public submissions on the proposed measures and alternative remedies until July 6, with a public hearing scheduled for July 7. – June 3, 2026