US Proposes Tariffs on 60 Economies Over Forced Labor

The US government has proposed tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on 60 economies, representing approximately 99 percent of all US imports, for failing to effectively ban or enforce prohibitions on goods made with forced labor. The Office of the United States Trade Representative released a comprehensive 98-page report on June 2, placing trading partners into two groups based on their enforcement of forced labor trade rules. Countries with existing bans, partial regimes, or commitments to prohibit such imports, including Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, would face an additional 10 percent tariff, while the remaining economies including China, Brazil, India, South Korea, Switzerland and Japan would be subject to 12.5 percent duties. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the administration would no longer tolerate the disparity that forces American workers to compete on unequal terms. The new tariff measure is designed to replace the 10 percent global tariff that is set to expire in late July, which had been imposed after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February for being unconstitutional. The Trump administration has now relied on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as the legal basis for the new tariff, a provision that carries no statutory expiration dates or maximum percentage caps and has historically proven more resilient against judicial challenges. The measure remains subject to public comment and hearings beginning in early July before taking effect, with exemptions including energy, rare earths, coffee, pharmaceuticals and aircraft parts. Legal experts anticipate immediate lawsuits once the tariff goes into effect, as critics argue that using Section 301 to apply blanket universal tariffs to dozens of countries stretches the law beyond Congress's original intent, which targeted the unfair practices of a single foreign country. China has rejected the forced labor allegations, with foreign ministry officials stating there is no forced labor in China and reiterating opposition to unilateral tariffs. Singapore, which would face the higher 12.5 percent rate, has continued to post strong export growth despite the tariff turmoil since 2025, driven by the artificial intelligence boom and increased trade with other Asian partners. The proposed rates may still change for some countries as the process unfolds. Meanwhile, in a separate development in India, Karnataka Employers' Association has challenged the Karnataka government's revised minimum wages in court, arguing that the increase will impose unsustainable burdens on businesses and threaten jobs. Research including the influential Card and Krueger study of 1992 has challenged the conventional wisdom that minimum wage increases cause significant job losses, finding that employment effects were either small or statistically insignificant. Workers and labor groups argue that low wages reflect bargaining imbalances rather than natural market outcomes and that minimum wage hikes represent long-overdue corrections.