On Tuesday, the Trump administration proposed introducing additional duties of 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, citing their “failure to curb trade in goods made with forced labour” as unreasonable. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office indicated this follows a Section 301 investigation into unfair trade practices.

The USTR announced 10% duties on imports from Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Britain, with 12.5% duties on 45 other investigated nations. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated the situation creates an “unequal playing field” for American workers.

The proposal includes a textile mechanism allowing reduced tariff rates on certain apparel and textile imports, with exemptions for energy, rare earth metals, beef, coffee, produce, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and aircraft parts.