US proposes up to 12.5pc tariffs on goods from 60 economies over forced labor failures, China denies

The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed imposing additional duties of 10 percent or 12.5 percent on imports from 60 economies after determining their failures to curb trade in goods made with forced labor are unreasonable and restrict US commerce.

The proposal from the US Trade Representative's office is the latest finding from a Section 301 unfair trade practices investigation to be released as the Trump administration seeks to rebuild its emergency tariffs, which were struck down by a US Supreme Court decision in February.

The USTR said it determined that it would impose 10 percent duties related to the forced labor investigation on imports from Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Britain.

The trade agency said it would impose additional duties of 12.5 percent on the remaining 45 countries that it investigated.

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

The USTR said it also was proposing a textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports to enter the US at a reduced tariff rate, though the duties and volumes were not disclosed.

The announcement comes ahead of the July 24 expiration of a 10 percent temporary tariff imposed by the Trump administration on February 20, the day the Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump's tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

On Monday, the USTR proposed a 25 percent duty on many Brazilian goods as a result of a Section 301 investigation into the country's digital trade practices and preferential tariffs. The trade agency is also expected to soon unveil the findings of another major Section 301 probe into the buildup of excess industrial capacity in 16 trading partners, including China.

China said on Wednesday it opposed all forms of "unilateral" tariffs and denied allegations of forced labor.

"There is no so-called forced labour in China, and we oppose using this as an excuse for political manipulation," Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a regular press briefing.

In the forced labor findings, the USTR said it would exempt from the tariffs a number of products including energy, rare earths and certain other metals, beef, coffee, certain fruits and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals and aircraft parts.

The USTR said it would accept public comments on the proposed tariffs and other remedies through July 6, with a public hearing scheduled for July 7.
 

Reuters

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