The United States will impose new tariffs on 60 countries, effective Friday, with taxes ranging from 10% to 12.5% on imports, accounting for 99% of US imports, according to the Trump administration. The move is in response to what the administration alleges is inadequate enforcement of bans on goods produced by forced labor.

Forced Labor and US Trade Policy

The US has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and the Trump administration is now using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose tariffs on countries found to engage in "unjustifiable," "unreasonable," or "discriminatory" trade practices. The administration has launched a probe into whether 16 countries have overproduced goods, pushing down prices and putting US companies at a disadvantage in global markets.

Some products, including oil and gas and fertilizer, are exempt from the new tariffs, as are products that qualify for duty-free status under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The tariff on imports from India, initially set at 12.5%, has been reduced to 10% after the country tightened its forced labor enforcement.

Global Response to Forced Labor

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), about 27.6 million people were in forced labor worldwide on any given day in 2021. The ILO defines forced labor as "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself (or herself) voluntarily." Human rights watchers say that while the motivation behind the tariffs may be questioned, they could make an impact on the problem of forced labor.

Experts, including Martina Vandenberg, founder and president of The Human Trafficking Legal Center, and Kenya Davis, partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, have weighed in on the issue, with Vandenberg saying that import bans can be a "potentially effective tool" in combating forced labor, and Davis noting that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has drawn attention to the issue of labor trafficking and forced labor.

What's Next for US Trade Policy

The new tariffs take effect at 12:01am on Friday, as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs introduced by Trump after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs in February expire. The administration is taking a risk in rolling out new tariffs ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, as Americans are already frustrated by the high cost of living. Readers should watch for further developments in US trade policy and the impact of the new tariffs on global trade.

  • 60 countries will be affected by the new tariffs
  • Tariffs will range from 10% to 12.5% on US imports
  • 99% of US imports will be subject to the new tariffs