US plans new tariffs on dozens of countries including UK, citing forced labour concerns

US announces new tariffs over forced labour concerns 4 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Mitchell Labiak Business reporter Getty Images The US has announced new tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports over concerns they are not doing enough to tackle forced labour. It is the second time President Donald Trump's administration has announced new import taxes since the US Supreme Court struck down many of his previous duties in February. The US Trade Department said these countries will face the tariffs because of their failure to address the importing of goods made with forced labour. The UK said it is tackling forced labour, China denied goods are made with forced labour, and the EU said the tariffs were unjustified. Meanwhile, an India analyst said the move was a pressure tactic. The 60 trading partners listed – including the UK, the EU, Canada, India and Japan – account for almost all of the goods sold to the US. The US government's stance is that trading with countries which buy things made with forced labour is unfair on the US. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said it "creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field". The tariffs announced have not yet been enforced. The Trump administration will need to go through a process to do so. The proposed tariffs come after an investigation launched in March by Greer into the 60 trading partners, and whether those countries had failed to act on prohibiting forced labour. The report into the investigations concluded that 54 of the countries had "failed to impose a legal prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labour and to effectively enforce such a prohibition". It said six other trading partners - Canada, the EU, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan - had "failed to effectively enforce a forced labour import prohibition". The trade department said it would impose 10% tariffs on imports from Canada, the EU, Britain, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. The remaining 45 countries, which include China and India, would face 12.5% duties. 'Unjustified' move A UK government spokesperson said: "We're tackling forced labour in the UK and in global supply chains to ensure UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations. "We continue to engage regularly with the US administration as part of our negotiations, and have made clear the actions we're taking." China said it opposed any form of unilateral tariff, and denied allegations of forced labour. "There is no so-called forced labour in China, and we oppose using this as an excuse for political manipulation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. The European Commission said the EU remained committed to the trade deal agreed with the Trump administration last year. "The EU considers ta