The United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) has taken action on 60 economies for their alleged failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor as provided under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.
Ambassador Jamieson Greer’s action comes after the USTR investigations, which included two rounds of public hearings, more than 2,100 public comments, and engagement with its trading partners to remedy these longstanding concerns.
“President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains. 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 Greer in a statement.
“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. I am encouraged by the trading partners who have moved quickly to adopt forced labor import prohibitions, and look forward to ensuring their effective enforcement.”
Consistent with the specific direction of the President, the U.S. Trade Representative has made the following determinations:
- 10 percent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for investigated economies that (i) impose a forced labor import prohibition; (ii) have committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade; or (iii) have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labor goods. These economies are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, ,El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
The USTR has also determined a 10 percent or 12.5 percent, net of Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rate is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for certain products of the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland.
In addition, a 12.5 percent rate was determined for all other investigated economies.
The U.S. Trade Representative has also determined, in accordance with the specific direction of the President, that product exemptions are appropriate for: (a) raw materials that if subject to these tariffs could lead to the unavailability of domestic supply; (b) products that could cause economy-wide disruptions if subject to these tariffs; (c) products that cannot be grown or produced in sufficient quantities or at reasonable prices in the United States or obtained from other sources; (d) certain products of Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Taiwan, or the United Kingdom that would encourage these economies to fulfill commitments regarding forced labor import prohibitions or to enact and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition; or (e) articles for which these tariffs may not contribute substantially to the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices of found to be actionable in the investigations.
