Trump administration launches new forced labor investigations into dozens of countries as it fights to restore tariffs
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The Trump administration's top trade official launched investigations Thursday into dozens of countries accused of failing to crack down on forced labor, flexing a law that lets the federal government impose tariffs and other trade restrictions as President Trump grapples with a Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of his tariffs. In:
The Trump administration's top trade official launched investigations Thursday into dozens of countries accused of failing to crack down on forced labor, flexing a law that lets the federal government impose tariffs and other trade restrictions as President Trump grapples with a Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of his tariffs.
The investigations are taking place under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law aimed at restricting unfair trade practices. The roughly 60 countries and territories that were hit with investigations include some of the U.S.'s largest trading partners, like China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement announcing the probes: "For too long, American workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labor."
The formal legal papers that launched the investigation argue that many other countries — unlike the U.S. — lack strong prohibitions on imports that are made using forced labor. As a result, firms in those countries could "source, use, and profit from imported products produced with forced labor," putting American companies at a disadvantage.
"These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor and how the failure to eradicate these abhorrent practices impacts U.S. workers and businesses," Greer said.
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