The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a “comprehensive report” detailing its accusations as it proposes tariffs on “all products of the investigated economies”.

The ruling covers a wide range of goods including apparel, footwear and textiles.

A total of 60 countries are accused of failing to enforce laws that prohibit goods made with forced labour, including trading partners such as China, Vietnam, Mexico, India, the UK, Canada and the European Union.

The USTR says the listed countries' “failure to impose and effectively enforce” rules on forced labour is creating “unfair competition” for US commerce.

The update follows shortly after the import taxes announced by President Trump in February 2026 were struck down by the US Supreme Court.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer commented: “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field.

“We will no longer tolerate this disparity. Some trading partners have taken initial steps to prevent the importation of forced labour goods, including through USMCA and commitments in Agreements on Reciprocal Trade. However, each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labour globally.” 

Key trade partners respond

Writing on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, the Bernd Lange, chair of the European Union’s trade committee, called the accusations “absurd”.

“The EU has adopted the world’s most stringent rules against products made with forced labour. This looks very much like trying to make the facts fit a legal justification for tariffs that has already been decided," he added.

In the UK, Marco Forgione, director general at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said the update was "disappointing but not surprising".

"This news will send a fresh wave of uncertainty through the UK trading community," he said in a statement.

“It is vital that the UK government continues to engage intentionally with the US administration on this issue. We have seen the impact of recent successful diplomacy with the US, in relation to whisky tariffs, and we must not forget the important basis of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal."