US proposes additional duties on imports from Bangladesh, 59 others over use of forced labour

The United States has proposed additional duties on imports from 60 countries, including Bangladesh, India, China and the United Kingdom, flagging continued use of forced labour in producing goods.  

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the acts, policies, and practices of 60 economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour is unreasonable and burdens or restricts US commerce. 

These are thus actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act. 

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer. 

“We will no longer tolerate this disparity.  Some trading partners have taken initial steps to prevent the importation of forced labor goods, including through USMCA and commitments in Agreements on Reciprocal Trade. However, each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labour globally.” 

The USTR identified 54 economies as failing to impose and effectively enforce bans on the importation of goods produced with forced labour. 

Another six economies, including Canada, Mexico and Pakistan, were cited for failing to effectively enforce existing prohibitions. 

The USTR will hold hearings about the proposed actions centring their investigations on the use of forced labour on July 7, 2026.

For economies that impose or have committed to impose a forced labour import prohibition, or economies that have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labor goods, the USTR proposes 10% as the rate of additional duties. 

For all other economies, the US Trade Representative proposes 12.5% as the rate of additional duty. 

These, however, won’t be effective immediately, being subject to a public comment and review period before implementation. 

On March 12, 2026, the USTR initiated 60 investigations related to the failure of various economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.

It received  testimony of nearly 60 witnesses and 500 comments and rebuttal comments. 

The following 54 economies have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour:

Algeria; Angola; Argentina; Australia; the Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Brazil; Cambodia; Chile; China, People’s Republic of; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Iraq; Israel; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Libya; Malaysia; Morocco; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Peru; the Philippines; Qatar; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Venezuela; and Vietnam.

The following six economies have failed to effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour: Canada; Ecuador, the European Union; Indonesia; Mexico; and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the USTR also proposed a separate textile mechanism that would allow a specified volume of apparel and textile imports from certain economies to enter the US at reduced Section 301 tariff rates.