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The US Trade Representative (USTR) proposed new duties targeting 60 economies on Tuesday for their alleged failure to act against forced labour.
The move comes as the Trump administration seeks to rebuild its tariff agenda following recent legal setbacks.
According to a government filing, the proposed tariffs range from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent and will undergo a public comment period before officials make a final decision.
The proposal follows months of Washington-led investigations into major trading partners, including China, the European Union, and Japan.
These probes examined whether the nations took action against importing goods made with forced labour and if their inaction impacted US commerce.
On Tuesday, the USTR announced that 54 economies, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced labour import prohibition.
The agency deemed six other economies—Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan—as failing to effectively enforce such bans.
USTR Jamieson Greer stated that the failure of America’s most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour remains unacceptable.
He added that this failure forces American workers to compete on an uneven global playing field.
However, the proposed tariffs exclude various goods, such as beef, coffee, and certain fruits and nuts.
Products from Canada and Mexico that comply with a North American free trade pact will also receive exemptions, alongside certain textiles and apparel.
The USTR has invited the public to provide written comments by July 6 and will subsequently hold hearings.
US officials launched these new trade probes to establish more lasting duties after the Supreme Court struck down a swath of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in February.
Alongside the forced labour investigations, the US trade envoy has also started separate probes into excess industrial capacity.
