US wants to impose new tariffs on the EU and Canada

An investigation by the Office of the US Trade Representative recommended tariffs on goods from 60 countries due to their failure to enact and enforce laws prohibiting goods made with forced labor, Politico reports.

This is one of two large-scale trade investigations the US administration launched in early spring in an attempt to reinstate Trump's global tariffs, struck down by the Supreme Court in February.

"The failure of our most important trading partners to address imports of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. It creates a situation where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field. We will no longer tolerate this inequality," said US Trade Representative Jamison Greer.

The EU and five countries—Canada, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan—failed to effectively enforce existing laws prohibiting forced labor. The report recommends imposing a 10% tariff on them.

The same tariff rate is recommended for nine other countries that have committed to addressing this issue through trade agreements with the US. These include Taiwan, Argentina, and the UK, which has "implemented a partial regime" to prevent forced labor in its supply chains.

The remaining 44 countries will face a 12.5% ​​tariff rate, including major US trading partners Japan and South Korea.

Photo: Ministry of Finance.