The proposal by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is part of the latest investigation into unfair trade practices, under Section 301, which was released at a time when the Trump administration is attempting to roll back its extraordinary tariffs, which were lifted in February by the US Supreme Court, British media write.
The USTR announced that it has decided to initiate a 10 percent tariff on imports from Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The agency announced it will impose additional tariffs of 12,5 percent on 45 other countries it is investigating.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address imported goods produced with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic in which American workers are forced to compete globally on an unequal playing field,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The USTR also stated that it is proposing a mechanism for textiles that would facilitate the entry of certain quantities of apparel and textiles into the US at a reduced tariff rate, although the tariffs and quantities have not been announced.
British media report that the USTR’s announcement comes on the eve of July 24 and the expiration of the temporary 10 percent tariff imposed by the Trump administration on February 20, when the Supreme Court overturned the US president’s tariff under the Emergency International Economic Authorization Act.
The USTR proposed a 25 percent tariff on several Brazilian products two days ago as a result of a Section 301 investigation into the country’s digital trade practices and preferential tariffs. The trade agency is expected to soon release its findings on the accumulation of excess industrial capacity in 16 trading partners, including China.
In the forced labor results, the USTR states that it will exempt from tariffs a series of products, including energy, rare earth metals and certain other metals, beef, coffee, certain fruits and vegetables, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals, and aircraft parts.