US announces new tariffs over forced labour concerns
11 hours ago
Mitchell LabiakBusiness reporter
The US has announced new tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports over concerns they are not doing enough to tackle forced labour.
It is the second time President Donald Trump's administration has announced new import taxes since the US Supreme Court struck down many of his previous duties in February.
The US Trade Department said these countries will face the tariffs because of their failure to address the importing of goods made with forced labour.
The UK said it is tackling forced labour, China denied goods are made with forced labour, and the EU said the tariffs were unjustified.
Meanwhile, an India analyst said the move was a pressure tactic as trade negotiations between the countries continue.
Human rights groups say forced labour does exist in China and that the UK and other countries need to do more on making sure firms do not have forced labour in their supply chains.
However, they questioned the effectiveness of US tariffs as a way of dealing with the problem.
The 60 trading partners listed – including the UK, the EU, Canada, India and Japan – account for almost all of the goods sold to the US.
The US government's stance is that trading with countries which buy things made with forced labour is unfair on the US.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said it "creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field".
The tariffs announced have not yet been enforced. The Trump administration will need to go through a process to do so.
Trump tariffs 3 June 2026
Trump's tariffs explained
Quick facts on the US president's economic measures
What are tariffs?
A tariff is the name for a tax on goods and services imported from other countries.
President Trump’s tariffs mean companies that bring foreign goods into the US have to pay the tax to the government.
These firms may pass some or all of the extra cost on to their customers, which in this case means ordinary Americans and other US businesses.
Why is Trump using tariffs?
Trump has given various reasons for proposing and imposing tariffs, including:
- Encouraging US consumers to buy more American-made goods
- Convincing firms to shift manufacturing to the US
- Encouraging countries to stop migrants and illegal drugs reaching the US
- Encouraging countries to support his plans to bring Greenland under US control
- Discouraging the alleged use of forced labour
What tariffs has Trump announced?
Since returning to office, Trump has announced a wide array of tariffs, and has continued to modify them over time.
Some are taxes on specific goods, such as steel and aluminium imports, others are taxes against individual countries.
They range from a 10% baseline tariff on all countries to a 50% tariff on Indian and Brazilian imports.
The Supreme Court has ruled some of his tariffs unlawful.
What effect are tariffs having?
Many US firms have said they will pass on the cost of tariffs to US customers, including Target, Walmart and Adidas.
Globally, experts expect the tariffs to have a chilling effect on economic growth.
The Trump administration says the tariffs have raised billions of dollars. But they have also prompted numerous legal cases in the US.
Many countries have started to turn away from trading with the US as they refuse to bow to the president’s demands.
The proposed tariffs come after an investigation launched in March by Greer into the 60 trading partners, and whether those countries had failed to act on prohibiting forced labour.
The report into the investigations concluded that 54 of the countries had "failed to impose a legal prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labour and to effectively enforce such a prohibition".
It said six other trading partners - Canada, the EU, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan - had "failed to effectively enforce a forced labour import prohibition".
The trade department said it would impose 10% tariffs on imports from Canada, the EU, Britain, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The remaining 45 countries, which include China and India, would face 12.5% duties.
'Unjustified' move
A UK government spokesperson said: "We're tackling forced labour in the UK and in global supply chains to ensure UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations.
"We continue to engage regularly with the US administration as part of our negotiations, and have made clear the actions we're taking."
Amnesty International'sbusiness and human rights director Peter Frankental told the BBC that "trade measures can play a role in addressing forced labour risks, but they are not a substitute for effective enforcement, corporate accountability and mandatory human rights due diligence."
He added: "The UK government urgently needs to get its own house in order; on that front, there remains significant room for improvement."
The UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner said "the UK law does not go far enough to tackle forced labour in supply chains".
It calculates the UK imports around £20bn of goods each year that may be linked to forced labour.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the new tariffs were "not a surprise" and would not impact the vast majority of Canadian exports to the US.
China said it opposed any form of unilateral tariff, and denied allegations of forced labour.
"There is no so-called forced labour in China, and we oppose using this as an excuse for political manipulation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
But several international human rights have said forced labour does exist in China, particularly among Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
The European Commission said the EU remained committed to the trade deal agreed with the Trump administration last year.
"The EU considers tariffs imposed on these grounds to be unjustified," a spokesperson said.
Ajay Srivastava of the Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative said India should challenge the legal basis of the proposed tariffs, arguing they stretch the scope of Section 301 - a US trade law that allows Washington to investigate and penalise foreign trade practices deemed unfair.
The move appeared to be part of "broader US pressure tactics", he said, and should be kept separate from ongoing trade negotiations.
"India should reassess its participation and consider stepping away from the bilateral trade agreement, as Malaysia has done," Srivastava said.
The Trump administration has not announced new tariffs since February when the Supreme Court ruled the so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs imposed by Trump on a slew of countries around the world in April 2025 were unlawful.
Trump called the ruling "terrible" and said the justices who rejected his trade policy were "fools".
Immediately after the ruling, Trump announced a 10% temporary global tariff but later said it would be 15%.
However, the duty came in at 10%, and it has not yet been increased. The measure is due to expire in July, unless extended by Congress.
Additional reporting by Soutik Biswas, India Correspondent, in Delhi.
