Trump proposes 12.5% forced-labor tariffs on 60 economies

The U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday proposed new duties of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, accusing them of failing to act against forced labor in a move that extends President Donald Trump's tariff agenda after a Supreme Court setback in February.

"The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable," USTR Jamieson Greer said in a statement. "This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field."

The proposed tariffs cover 54 economies — including China, Vietnam, Taiwan and the United Kingdom — that the USTR determined "failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition." Six others — Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan — were deemed not to have effectively enforced such prohibitions. The duties will undergo a public comment period ending July 6 before a final decision.

The action follows the Supreme Court's February ruling that struck down a swath of Trump's earlier tariffs, prompting the administration to launch new trade investigations under different legal authority. The current average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods stands at roughly 19% after multiple escalation rounds since 2018, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The previous rounds of tariff increases reduced bilateral trade by about $80 billion annually, Census Bureau data show.

China swiftly pushed back. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday that Beijing "consistently opposes various forms of unilateral tariff measures" and that "tariff wars and trade wars do not serve the interests of any party." She called for resolving trade issues through dialogue on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.

The proposed tariffs include exemptions for beef, coffee, certain fruits and nuts, as well as goods from Canada and Mexico that comply with the USMCA trade pact and certain textiles and apparel. The USTR will hold hearings after the public comment period closes.

The latest escalation threatens to disrupt supply chains across multiple sectors. A 12.5% tariff on Chinese manufactured goods, for instance, would add roughly $4,000 to the cost of a typical $32,000 container of electronics and machinery, based on average shipment values tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau. The previous tariff escalation in 2025 pushed the S&P 500 down 6% over three weeks while the Bloomberg Dollar Index gained 2.5%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Beyond forced labor, the USTR has also launched separate probes into excess industrial capacity among trading partners, signaling the administration is building a broader legal foundation for tariffs that could withstand judicial scrutiny. The next milestone is the July 6 comment deadline, after which the USTR will schedule hearings before issuing a final determination.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.