New forced labor tariffs put in place, but who is the US protecting?
The Trump administration has proposed new tariffs on imports from 60 countries, including major trading partners like Canada, Mexico and the European Union. This is the second time that the administration has tried to increase import taxes after previous attempts were struck down by courts as unlawful. This time around, the administration claims the tariffs are for failing to do enough to stop goods made with forced labor from entering global supply chains.
Tackling forced labor is worthy goal and deserves to be taken seriously. It is real, widespread, and the world has not done nearly enough to stop it. But when a policy claims a moral purpose, it’s worth asking whether the design actually matches the stated goal. And on that question, this proposal invites some scrutiny.
What’s on the table and what’s not
The proposal follows a US investigation launched in March into whether major trading partners were adequately enforcing bans on goods made with forced labor. The report concluded that 54 countries had failed to establish or enforce effective prohibitions on imports linked to forced labor.
Six others—including Canada, the European Union, Mexico and Indonesia—were found to have enforcement measures in place but not to be applying them effectively. Under the proposal, the UK, EU, Canada, Mexico, Bangladesh and several other countries would face a 10% tariff. China, India, Japan and dozens of additional nations would face tariffs of 12.5%.
The BBC reports:
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.
However, several sectors are not subject to the new tariffs including rare earth minerals, coffee, beef, and parts of the tech industry. But we’ve reported on forced labor in many of these supply chains for years. They’re well known and well documented to have modern slavery ties.
Want to see how deep this goes? Our Freedom Map tracks forced labor risks across industries and countries worldwide—including plenty that didn’t make this tariff list.