Trump imposes fresh tariffs on 60 trading partners over forced labour concerns

The Trump administration on Friday (July 24) announced a fresh round of tariffs targeting 60 trading partners, saying the measures are aimed at countries that have failed to prohibit and effectively enforce bans on imports produced with forced labour.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the tariffs were imposed following investigations conducted by his office under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. "The Trump administration is imposing tariffs on 60 trading partners for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor," Greer said in a statement.

The move marks President Donald Trump's latest attempt to restore broad-based import tariffs after the US Supreme Court struck down his "Liberation Day" tariffs, which ranged from 10 per cent to 50 per cent and had been introduced last year under a national emergencies law. The court ruled that the legislation did not provide the legal authority for the sweeping tariff regime.

Following the ruling, Trump introduced a temporary 10 per cent tariff for 150 days, a measure that is due to expire on Friday. Greer said the latest tariffs were intended to address human rights abuses linked to forced labour in global supply chains.

"President Trump recognises that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains. 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," he said.

"Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere," Greer added.

The announcement came a day after the Trump administration signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, a country that has long faced criticism from international rights organisations over its human rights record.

Human Rights Watch has previously accused Saudi Arabia of using major sports and entertainment events to improve its international image while migrant workers, including those employed on projects linked to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, continue to face widespread labour abuses across multiple sectors.

The administration has framed the new tariff measures as part of a broader effort to combat forced labour while reshaping US trade policy following the legal setback to Trump's earlier tariff programme.