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. The proposal, which also targets China, Japan, India, and Brazil, aims to circumvent court-imposed limits on his tariff powers following a US Supreme Court ruling in February that declared his earlier 'liberation day' tariffs illegal.
The EU immediately rejected the move, arguing that the tariffs breach the spirit of a trade deal agreed last July. A European Commission statement said the bloc 'fully shares' US concerns about forced labour but considers the tariffs unjustified, and expects the US to respect the existing agreement.
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.'
The proposed tariffs stem from investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. 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, though the White House judged Canada and the EU as failing to enforce their laws effectively. The UK, EU, Canada, Mexico, and Taiwan would face 10% tariffs, while China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, and Switzerland would face 12.5% levies.
The UK government said it has already tackled forced labour through legislation, including the Modern Slavery Act, and noted that its existing trade agreement with the US remains unchanged. The new tariffs are subject to public comment and review before taking effect.
