The Office of the United States Trade Representative has determined that the acts, policies, and practices of 60 economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on the importation of goods produced with forced labor are unreasonable, burden or restrict U.S. commerce, and are therefore actionable under Section 301 of the Trade Act.
The USTR found that 54 countries have failed to both impose and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition, while six economies, Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan, have failed to effectively enforce existing prohibitions. According to the USTR, these shortcomings undermine efforts to eliminate forced labor, distort market competition, and disadvantage U.S. producers.
To address these concerns, the USTR has proposed imposing additional ad valorem duties on imports from all 60 economies. A 10% tariff would apply to imports from Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan, as well as from the United Kingdom, which the USTR said maintains a partial regime aimed at preventing imports of certain forced labor goods. The 10% rate would also apply to Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, and Taiwan, which have committed through their Agreements on Reciprocal Trade to implement forced labor import prohibitions. Imports from the remaining 46 countries would be subject to an additional 12.5% tariff.
The proposed action would apply to imports from the covered economies, subject to exclusions listed in Annex A. Exemptions include products already subject to Section 232 tariffs, USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico, qualifying textile and apparel products imported duty-free under CAFTA-DR, certain critical raw materials, products that could cause significant supply chain disruptions, items not readily available from U.S. or alternative sources, informational materials, donations, and accompanied baggage. Additional exclusions include various agricultural products, energy products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace products, certain metals, and semiconductor-related products.
The USTR has also proposed a textile mechanism that would allow a specified volume of textile and apparel imports to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate based on purchases of U.S. textile inputs or cotton products by participating trading partners.
Public comments on the proposed actions are due by July 6, 2026, and public hearings are scheduled to begin on July 7, 2026. Requests to appear at the hearings must be submitted by June 22, 2026.
The full text of the notice along with Annex A is available here: USTR–2026–0265, USTR–2026–0266