Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia, over alleged failures to address forced labour in supply chains. The proposal, which would also affect China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland, is seen as an attempt to bypass recent court rulings that blocked his earlier tariff plans.
The EU immediately criticised the move, arguing that it breaches the spirit of the tariff agreement reached in July last year. A European Commission spokesperson said the bloc 'fully shares' US concerns about forced labour but considers the proposed levies 'unjustified'. The UK government said it has already tackled the issue through legislation, including the Modern Slavery Act, and that its existing tariff agreement with the US remains unchanged.
The proposed tariffs stem from investigations under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which examined the labour laws of 60 trading partners. A 98-page report found that only Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan have not failed to impose a forced labour import prohibition. However, the White House judged Canada to be failing to enforce its laws, and the EU's ban on forced labour imports does not take effect until December 2027, leaving both potentially subject to tariffs.
The new levies would not take effect immediately and are subject to public comment and review. The US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said: 'The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field. We will no longer tolerate this disparity.'
