Fri 24 July 2026:

The US announced Thursday that it will impose additional tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on 60 trade partners over their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”

The action was taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 following investigations into the acts, policies and practices of various economies related to forced labor imports, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.

The tariffs, which cover 99.4% of US imports from the investigated economies, will be set at either 10% or 12.5%, subject to certain product exemptions.

“President (Donald) Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer added.

The US administration launched the Section 301 investigations into 60 trading partners in March, citing their failure to ban and effectively enforce prohibitions on imports of goods produced with forced labor.

The USTR said at the time that the investigations covered 60 trading partners, including China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Taiwan, the UK and Türkiye.

On June 2, the USTR determined that the practices of the investigated economies were “unreasonable” and burdened or restricted US commerce, making them actionable under Section 301.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

China opposes unilateral US tariffs

China on Friday rejected unilateral fresh tariffs by the US, stressing trade wars do not serve the world’s top two economies.

“We oppose all forms of unilateral tariffs,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

Washington on Thursday announced tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, which took effect Friday, over their alleged failure to prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering international trade.

The duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, entered into force at 12.01 am Eastern Time (0401GMT) and replaced President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff, which expired at the same time.

The Trump administration’s latest measures cover trading partners accounting for 99.4% of US trade, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Japan, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and India, besides China, are among those hit with the latest US levies.

Tokyo expressed “regret” while Canberra called the tariffs “unjustified” and Wellington rejected the accusations of forced labor.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22