The Trump Administration is intends to impose tariffs under on goods from 60 economies which allegedly don’t prevent forced labor i.e. slavery – including the EU, the UK and Canada.
This follows a US Treasury report of June 2, 2026, on forced labor – in response to US court rulings that struck down high tariffs imposed last year under different rules.
The Trump Administration intends to impose tariffs under on goods from 60 economies which allegedly don’t prevent forced labor i.e. slavery – including the EU, the UK and Canada.
Most countries ban slavery, it seems they don’t ban imports from other countries where slavery may exist. Such imports, if they exist, may then allegedly lead to unfair exports to the US!
Will Trump have his way? Here’s a summary of the US Treasury report.
Moral rationale:
For nearly 100 years, the United States has prohibited the importation of goods produced with forced labor under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The use of forced labor across the world continues to persist and has even increased in recent years. Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 defines “forced labor” as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily”.
The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.
The United States Trade Representative initiated 60 investigations that included an examination of the acts, policies and practices of 60 economies from which 99.40 percent of U.S. imports are shipped. All failed the exam.
Economic rationale:
The failure of each of the investigated economies to impose and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition is unreasonable because forced labor artificially increases comparative advantages and contributes to unfair export competitiveness. Forced labor goods compete widely in global markets
Where are the slaves?
According to the ILO report cited in Footnote 40 of the US Treasury report (Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Forced Labour and Forced Marriage), there are 27.6 million persons in forced labor as of 2021, located in: Asia and the Pacific 15.1m, Europe & central Asia 4.1m, Africa 3.8m, Americas 3.6m, Arab states 0.9m.
Where in Asia? The US Treasury cites (Page 15) the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which create rebuttable presumptions prohibiting from entry goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by North Korean labor or in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, respectively.
According to the ILO forced labor includes non-payment of wages (36%), abuse of vulnerability (21% direct threat (19%), financial penalty and debt manipulation (15%).
Where does the data come from? The principal sources are data from nationally representative household surveys (ILO Report Page 12).
Proposed action – tariffs:
For economies that have a forced labor import prohibition, but have failed to effectively enforce it, the U.S. Treasury’s Trade Representative proposes 10% as the rate of additional duties. This refers to: Canada; Ecuador; the European Union; Indonesia; Mexico; and Pakistan.
U.S. Trade Representative proposes 12.5% as the rate of additional duty for products from economies that have failed to impose a forced labor import prohibition.
This applies to the following 54 economies: Algeria; Angola; Argentina; Australia; the Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Brazil; Cambodia; Chile; China, People’s Republic of; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Iraq; Israel; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Libya; Malaysia; Morocco; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Peru; the Philippines; Qatar; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Venezuela; and Vietnam.
What we now expec:
- The public is invited to provide written comments by July 6, 2026.
- The US Treasury will hold hearings about the proposed actions on July 7, 2026.
- After that, we await a final announcement.
Comments:
Some may wonder whether Trump is scraping the barrel in his latest attempt at raising US tariff duties.
These proposals have yet to be finalized. Nevertheless, it seems only physical goods are potentially affected, rather than digital products and services. So the service and tech sectors may largely dodge the tariff bullet – except medical and other physical devices.
Next steps:
- Experienced professional advisors should be consulted in each country, including a US Customs Agent, in specific cases.
- Please contact us to arrange and coordinate such advice – and to discuss the structuring of international-US activities.
© Leon Harris 7.5.26