Report in Section 301 Investigations of the Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure to Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor
The report’s main argument is that forced labour is still widespread globally, even though it is universally condemned, and that this creates an unfair trade system because goods made with forced labour are artificially cheaper and more competitive. It says this hurts firms that follow labour rules, distorts markets, and disadvantages U.S. producers both abroad and at home. The report examines 60 economies that together account for about 99.40% of U.S. imports, and argues that failing to stop imports made with forced labour undermines the global goal of eliminating forced labour and contributes to evasion of existing import bans.
The report’s conclusion is that all 60 investigated economies are acting in a way that is “unreasonable” under Section 301 because they have not adequately blocked forced-labour goods from entering trade. It says 54 economies failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labour import ban, while 6 economies (Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan) failed to effectively enforce one; in both cases, the result is unfair competition that burdens U.S. commerce. Based on that, the related USTR notice proposes extra tariffs—generally 10% for economies with some ban/commitment/partial regime and 12.5% for the others—plus a special textile mechanism for some apparel and textile imports.