The United States has imposed new tariffs on 60 trading partners that account for most of its imports for failing to stop forced labor.
The tariffs, which range from 10% to 12.5%, target major economic partners including the UK, China, the European Union, Canada, Japan and India. It came into effect on Friday, following the expiration of a temporary 10% tax on foreign goods introduced earlier this year.
This measure is the biggest escalation of the global trade war that was sparked again last year when U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that many of the tariffs imposed globally under emergency powers were enacted illegally.
The president has since sought other ways to pursue his flagship trade policy.
Last month, the White House proposed tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on imports from dozens of countries, citing concerns that not enough was being done to address forced labor.
At President Trump’s direction, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Thursday that these tariffs will now go into effect.
“Today’s action will begin to improve the well-being of workers around the world by correcting human rights abuses and distorting trade practices,” he said in a statement.
Greer invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which governs U.S. trade enforcement of practices that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, imposing a 50% tariff on Canadian products.
On Thursday, the Office of the US Trade Representative said the latest round of tariffs were imposed on “partners who have failed to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports of goods produced with forced labor.”
The new tariffs apply to the top 60 U.S. trading partners, which account for 99.4% of U.S. imports, it added.
The office said President Trump adopted a ban on imports produced with forced labor as an “important” part of bilateral trade agreements with other countries.
So far, 10 trading partners have agreed to enact such a ban in these agreements, and other countries have said they have implemented it. The ban followed investigations in recent weeks.
Trading partners who “have adopted and committed to effectively implement” a ban on forced labor imports will be subject to a 10% tariff, while those who have not will be assessed a higher tariff of 12.5%, the office added.
“We are encouraged by our trading partners who have quickly adopted a ban on forced labor imports, and we look forward to effective implementation,” Greer said.
Deborah Elms, a trade policy expert at the Heinrich Foundation, said the new levies show the Trump administration’s “determination” to pursue its tariff strategy.
She told the BBC it was unlikely the countries facing tariffs would be able to prove they had sufficient measures to prevent forced labor imports.
Wendy Cutler, an economic security expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the impact could be mitigated by the number of products exempt from the levy, but it would likely increase costs for businesses and consumers.
Most trading partners will be disappointed by the new levies and will focus on ways to “reduce our dependence on the U.S. market” by doing business with other countries, Cutler added.
