By Andrew Miller
If your business imports goods, here’s something worth knowing about.
A month ago, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed additional tariffs on goods from 60 countries. These countries haven’t effectively enforced bans on goods made with forced labor, which USTR says creates an uneven playing field for American workers.
The proposal would affect major trading partners, including China, the European Union, and Japan. The rates would be 10% for 14 economies and 12.5% for the other 46.
The 10% group includes countries like Canada, Mexico, the EU, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Pakistan with an existing forced-labor import ban that isn’t well enforced. In addition, that group includes countries that have made separate bilateral commitments on the issue, such as Taiwan, the UK, Argentina, and several Central and South American nations.
Meanwhile, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and most other investigated countries fall under the higher tier of 12.5%.
The scope of the tariffs is broad, but not absolute. The proposal includes exclusions for USMCA-compliant goods, goods already covered by Section 232 tariffs, and a long list of specific product categories.
The public comment window on the proposal closes today. Tomorrow, USTR starts the hearing process. Some countries, including the EU, Mexico, and the UK, have pushed back on USTR’s findings, and it won’t be clear whether the tariffs move forward until after the hearing wraps.
USTR hasn’t said when new duties would kick in if the proposal is approved. Some trade attorneys expect the agency to move quickly, since a separate 10% global tariff is set to expire around the same time, but that’s not a confirmed timeline.
For now, this is still a proposal, not a policy. Tomorrow’s hearing is the next real test of whether it holds up.
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