The Trump administration has taken a key step toward rebuilding a tariff wall around the U.S. economy, announcing new restrictions on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners that lack sufficient prohibitions on the use of forced labor.
Under the new plan, goods from nations that the U.S. says fail to effectively ban forced labor, including China, India, the United Kingdom and Japan, will face 12.5 percent tariffs. Goods from the European Union, Canada and Mexico that maintain partial bans will face 10 percent levies.
The planned tariffs, which will be implemented next month following a public comment period, are the result of a “Section 301″ investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, which permits the president to act against unfair trade practices.
“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,” said Jamieson Greer, the president’s trade chief. “We will no longer tolerate this disparity.”
The administration launched the investigation following the Supreme Court’s February decision that invalidated most of President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs from 2025. The court found that the president had exceeded his authority by relying on a 1977 economic emergency powers law that had never been used to implement such trade restrictions.
To replace the tariffs that the high court struck down, the president imposed a temporary 10 percent tariff on all imports. Those tariffs are scheduled to expire on July 24.
The new forced labor tariffs are just one part of the administration’s permanent tariff strategy.
A second set of tariffs is expected to emerge later this summer from a separate government probe into nations that allegedly maintain excess production capacity, which the administration says allows them to swamp global markets with inexpensive goods.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/06/03/trump-administration-announces-new-tariffs-over-use-forced-labor/
Under the new plan, goods from nations that the U.S. says fail to effectively ban forced labor, including China, India, the United Kingdom and Japan, will face 12.5 percent tariffs. Goods from the European Union, Canada and Mexico that maintain partial bans will face 10 percent levies.
The planned tariffs, which will be implemented next month following a public comment period, are the result of a “Section 301″ investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, which permits the president to act against unfair trade practices.
“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,” said Jamieson Greer, the president’s trade chief. “We will no longer tolerate this disparity.”
The administration launched the investigation following the Supreme Court’s February decision that invalidated most of President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs from 2025. The court found that the president had exceeded his authority by relying on a 1977 economic emergency powers law that had never been used to implement such trade restrictions.
To replace the tariffs that the high court struck down, the president imposed a temporary 10 percent tariff on all imports. Those tariffs are scheduled to expire on July 24.
The new forced labor tariffs are just one part of the administration’s permanent tariff strategy.
A second set of tariffs is expected to emerge later this summer from a separate government probe into nations that allegedly maintain excess production capacity, which the administration says allows them to swamp global markets with inexpensive goods.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/06/03/trump-administration-announces-new-tariffs-over-use-forced-labor/
