A forced-labor crackdown or an end-run around Congress? Dissecting Trump’s new tariffs
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- Trump administration imposed tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on more than 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, claiming those countries failed to effectively enforce prohibitions on goods produced with forced labor.
- The tariffs affect countries accounting for 99% of U.S. imports and took effect just as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs expired—tariffs that had themselves replaced worldwide duties the Supreme Court struck down in February.
- USTR conducted a four-month investigation, held two rounds of public hearings, and received over 2,100 public comments but did not detail how it arrived at specific tariff rates or its confidential talks with the targeted countries.
- Cato Institute's Scott Lincicome called the evidence "laughable on its face," questioning how countries like Norway and Switzerland could be deemed inadequate on policing forced labor.
- Brazil called the tariffs "arbitrary and unjustified," accusing the U.S. of "manipulating" human rights to attack 59 countries and the EU; Australia also publicly questioned its 12.5% rate.
- The National Council of Textile Organizations protested carve-outs exempting Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, warning the mechanism will harm the 453,000-worker U.S. textile industry that has already lost 41 plants in two-plus years.
- Lawyer Patrick Childress said there is "no short-term path for countrywide relief" — even if countries enact and enforce forced-labor bans, they must still prove enforcement to Washington's satisfaction before tariffs are removed.
Why it matters: The administration is using Section 301 to impose permanent tariffs on 99% of U.S. imports without Congressional approval, filling the void left by the Supreme Court's February ruling against his earlier universal tariffs. By grouping allies like Australia, Norway, and Switzerland with countries that have weaker labor records, the administration has made the forced-labor rationale harder to defend—and given affected nations little realistic path to relief.
