The proposal follows a Section 301 unfair trade practices probe.
USTR has proposed imposing additional duties on imports from 60 economies as their failure to curb trade in goods made with forced labour is unreasonable and restricts US commerce.
It would impose 10-per cent duties on imports from the EU, the UK, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala; the rest will face 12.5 per cent.
USTR would impose 10-per cent duties on imports from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.
It would impose additional duties of 12.5 per cent on the remaining countries probed.
It also proposed a textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from certain economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable,” USTR Jamieson Greer said in a USTR release. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field.”
The announcement comes ahead of the July 24 expiration of a 10-per cent temporary tariff imposed by the US administration on February 10 this year, the day the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act.
USTR would accept public comments on the proposed tariffs and other remedies till July 6, with a public hearing scheduled for July 7.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
