09/06/2026
【Current News】 Washington Targeted 60 Countries on Forced Labor Grounds. Almost Everyone Is Pushing Back.
Two days after the US Trade Representative declared that 60 trading partners had failed to adequately address trade in goods made with forced labor, the collective response from those countries was swift and largely dismissive. The EU called the tariffs unjustified. Canada's prime minister described the move as unsurprising and said it would not affect the vast majority of Canadian exports. China denied that forced labor exists. India's trade analysts urged New Delhi to challenge the legal basis of the tariffs entirely.
The scope of the announcement is what makes it notable. The 60 trading partners named by the USTR account for almost all goods imported into the United States. They include the UK, the EU, Canada, Japan, India, China, Mexico, Malaysia, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and dozens of others. The proposed structure splits into two tiers: a 10% rate applying to Canada, the EU, UK, Malaysia, Taiwan, and others, while China, India, and 45 additional countries face 12.5% duties.
The investigation, launched in March, concluded that 54 countries had failed to impose a legal prohibition on importing goods made with forced labor. Six others, including Canada and the EU, were found to have failed to effectively enforce an existing prohibition. That distinction in findings did not produce a distinction in rates.
One important qualifier: the tariffs have not yet been enforced. The Trump administration still needs to complete a formal regulatory process before any duties take effect. That process, combined with the volume of countries simultaneously pushing back and negotiating, leaves the eventual shape of these measures genuinely open.
This is also the second time the administration has announced broad import tariffs since the Supreme Court struck down the Liberation Day tariffs in February, ruling they exceeded presidential authority. The administration is now working through Section 301 investigations, which provide a different legal basis. The current 10% temporary global tariff expires in July unless extended by Congress.
For anyone with supply chain exposure in the named countries, the relevant questions are whether these tariffs take effect, at what final rate, and whether existing bilateral trade deals provide a ceiling. On June 4, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that US-EU and US-Japan agreements capping tariffs at 15% remain in effect, though that assurance came with a conditional: it holds provided both sides continue to honor their existing commitments.
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It comes after the US Supreme Court struck down many of US President Donald Trump's previous duties in February.
