Trump revives his tariff agenda, and this time he’s threatening 60 trading partners including UK and Canada over alleged ‘forced labor’

President Donald Trump is reviving his signature trade policy by threatening tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the UK, the European Union, and Australia, The Guardian reported. This move centers on allegations regarding forced labour failures, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing tension surrounding international trade agreements.

The proposal comes after a series of legal battles in the United States. You might recall that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that the president’s previous liberation day tariffs were illegal. When Donald Trump responded by imposing 10% across-the-board tariffs, the US trade court found those to be unlawful as well.

Even though those measures remain in place during the appeal process, this new strategy effectively allows the administration to sidestep those specific court-imposed limits. By utilizing section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the administration is targeting countries based on findings from a 98-page report on labor laws.

The outcome will likely have ripple effects across the global economy for quite some time

According to this report, only a handful of nations, including Ecuador, Indonesia, and Pakistan, have not failed to impose a forced labour import prohibition. The White House has taken a hardline stance, judging that countries like Canada are failing to enforce their own laws. Furthermore, because the European Union’s across-the-board ban on imports of goods using forced labour does not come into force until December 2027, the administration believes the EU is also subject to these new tariffs.

The breakdown of the proposed rates is quite specific. The report indicates that the EU, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and the UK would face 10% tariffs. Meanwhile, higher levies of 12.5% would be imposed on China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, and Switzerland. On top of these threats, the US is also considering fresh levies of 25% on Brazil. It is clear that the administration is not pulling any punches when it comes to its protectionist agenda.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended the move, stating, “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field. We will no longer tolerate this disparity.”

This aggressive approach has not gone unnoticed by international leaders. Trading partners, including Keir Starmer, have invested significant effort into building trust with the administration and managing the costs associated with its unpredictable nature. Naturally, this news is creating a sense of unease.

Experts had long predicted that Donald Trump, who has been obsessed with tariffs as a tool of national economic security for decades, would eventually find a way around the February supreme court ruling. At that time, he even threatened to use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way” while identifying at least six other legal routes to penalize countries he deemed perilous to the US economy.

The European Commission has already hit back, noting that it “fully shares” US concerns about forced labour but “considers tariffs imposed on these grounds to be unjustified”. The commission emphasized that it expects the US to respect the tariff deal entered into last July, arguing that these stealth tariffs breach the spirit of that agreement. They remain committed to the deal that established 15% tariffs on most goods and expect the US to fully respect those terms.

The UK government is also pushing back, pointing to its existing legislation like the Modern Slavery Act as evidence that it has already addressed these issues. A spokesperson noted, “We continue to engage regularly with the US administration as part of our negotiations, and have made clear the actions we’re taking.” The spokesperson further clarified that the preferential access UK businesses currently enjoy remains in place and there is no change to the current tariff rate.

While these proposed tariffs are certainly causing a stir, it is worth noting that they would not take effect immediately. They are currently subject to a period of public comment and review. This gives the affected nations a brief window to navigate the diplomatic fallout of this latest policy shift. You can expect that the coming weeks will be filled with intense negotiations as these 60 trading partners attempt to protect their interests against what is shaping up to be a very challenging trade environment.