(Photo: Anna Moneymaker/AFP/Getty Images)
The US Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday proposed new import duties against 60 economies for their alleged failure to act against forced labour.
With this, the Trump administration is trying to rebuild its tariff agenda after several setbacks in court.
According to a government document, the proposed charges vary between 10% and 12.5%. The proposal will now be opened for public comment, before a final decision is made.
The move comes months after Washington launched an investigation into trade partners including China, the European Union (EU) and Japan. The investigations determined whether these countries take steps to prevent the importation of products manufactured with forced labor and whether their actions have an influence on American trade.
The USTR says 54 of the economies have “failed to introduce and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”.
The group includes China, Vietnam, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, among others.
A further six economies – Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan – have been accused of not implementing the ban effectively.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to deal with the importation of goods produced with forced labor is unacceptable,” Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, said in a statement.
“This creates a situation where American workers worldwide have to compete on an uneven playing field.”
However, the proposed levies contain several exceptions, including for beef, coffee and certain fruits and nuts.
Goods from Canada and Mexico that meet the requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement will also be exempted, as well as certain textile and clothing products.
The public can submit written comments until July 6, after which the USTR will hold public hearings.
After the US Supreme Court in February a large part of pres. Donald Trump’s import tariffs, US officials have launched new trade probes as part of efforts to impose more permanent tariffs.
In addition to investigating forced labor, the US trade envoy also investigated industrial overcapacity.