DistantNews
Support us
🇺🇸 United States /Economy & Trade

Trump administration imposes new tariffs on dozens of countries over forced labor concerns

From CBS News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Trump administration is imposing tariffs of up to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners accused of failing to stop forced labor.
  • The tariffs, with rates of 10% or 12.5%, affect countries like Vietnam, China, the UK, Canada, Mexico, and the EU, and go into effect Friday.
  • This move aims to address human rights concerns and perceived unfair trade advantages, though economists warn of higher consumer prices and potential pushback.

The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs of up to 12.5% starting Friday on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners accused of not adequately cracking down on forced labor. This move extends the administration's existing tariffs to cover a significant portion of global trade.

the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken, that any country has ever taken.

— senior administration officialDescribing the significance of the new tariff measure.

Most trading partners will face a 12.5% tariff, including Vietnam and China. A lower 10% rate will apply to 17 countries with some prohibitions on forced labor, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico. The European Union and five other partners will face additional levies to reach a total most-favored-nation tariff rate of either 10% or 12.5%.

An administration official described the measure as "the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken." The official stated that forced labor is viewed as a problem due to human rights concerns and because countries that do not enforce bans on it gain an "unfair advantage" over the U.S. The action is framed as advancing bipartisan objectives by combining enforcement with incentives for trading partners to adopt similar import prohibitions.

countries that don't enforce bans on forced labor have an "unfair advantage" over the United States, which does enforce such bans.

— administration officialExplaining the administration's view on the economic implications of forced labor.

Certain imports are exempt, including oil and gas, items not produced in the U.S. that could cause economic disruption, goods where tariffs wouldn't eliminate unfair practices, and items like steel already covered by other tariffs. Many goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement also receive exemptions. The new tariffs replace a separate 10% levy on most imports that is set to expire Friday, marking the latest effort by President Trump to reinstate his tariff system after a Supreme Court ruling invalidated many of his previous country-by-country tariffs.

This action advances longstanding bipartisan objectives by pairing enforcement with incentives that encourage our trading partners to adopt and effectively enforce the type of import prohibitions that we do.

— administration officialDetailing the strategy behind the new tariffs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CBS News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog