Trump Administration’s Copy/Paste Investigation on Forced Labor Lays Foundation for New Tariffs on 60+ Countries
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released the findings of its Section 301 “investigation” into 60 jurisdictions (59 countries plus the European Union), alleging that all 60 have failed to sufficiently prohibit importation of goods made with forced labor, and therefore recommending President Trump impose tariffs of 10% for some and 12.5% for others. Those that have signed Agreements on Reciprocal Trade with the Trump administration receive slightly more favorable tariffs.
Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch director at Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
Forced labor is a scourge on the global economy and our collective humanity, and it should be rooted out wherever possible. But the administration has twisted this laudable goal as part of its cynical ploy to recreate Trump’s chaotic and coercive tariff regime that the courts have ruled illegal.
This “investigation” of 60 jurisdictions somehow produced results in record time – just over two months, when serious investigations of unfair trade practices for even just one jurisdiction usually take between 5 and 18 months. Its “findings” are essentially a copy/paste for all countries and – surprise, surprise – every single one is deemed guilty with a proposed punishment of across the board tariffs very similar to the current tariff levels set to expire in July (with plenty of room for exemptions for politically connected companies and industries).
With ICE detainees on hunger strike in New Jersey and widespread protest about coerced and forced labor at the hands of private ICE contractors paying detainees just $1 per day, it is very difficult to believe that this administration is acting out of genuine concern for the plight of those living in modern-day slavery.
And If the Trump administration were serious about actually combatting forced labor abroad, it would be vigorously enforcing our own bans on forced labor, but it is not. For example:
- Under Trump’s Customs and Border Patrol, enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) dropped sharply in 2025, and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force has added zero new entities to the UFLPA Entity, despite on-going reporting of forced labor risk and no evidence that shipments of goods prohibited by the law have slowed.
- Last year, the administration lifted the ban on sugar and sugar-based products produced in the Dominican Republic by the Central Romana Corporation – which had previously been cited for systemic indicators of forced labor – after Central Romana’s owners and their companies have given more than $7 million to Trump fundraising committees and super PACs.
- And DOGE cuts to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) within the Department of Labor led to the illegal termination of contracts that provide technical support, research, and monitoring to strengthen global labor standards and enforce labor commitments around forced and child labor.