Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, VITAL BRIEFING—U.S. trade office zeroes in on forced labor import practices, (Jun 18, 2026)
In responding to the Trump administration’s new tariff proposal, a spokeswoman from China’s foreign ministry asserted there is no forced labor in China.
In this edition of Tariff Insights, Thomas Thompson takes a look at various developments around the U.S. Trade Representative’s consideration of a new round of widespread tariffs that it justifies by sweeping claims that nearly all major U.S. trading partners are engaged or involved with the prohibited use of forced labor. Some of the matters Thompson discusses in the article include:
How under the USTR’s proposed framework, tariff levels will reflect an exporting country’s efforts against importing forced labor products into their own economies, rather than determining that particular products or their components are susceptible to forced labor production.
An array of criticisms on the propriety and effectiveness of the contemplated tariffs from exporters, industry representatives and trading partners, including a response from the owner of a company that exports frozen berries to the U.S., who says that additional tariffs on these products would burden American consumers without advancing the forced labor elimination objective.
Strong pushback regarding the proposed tariff frameworks from representatives of China, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore and India, as well as a preemptive rebuke from the French Trade Ministry expressing confidence that the EU would not be assessed by the new U.S. tariffs because Europe is at the forefront in fighting forced labor.
To read the piece, click on U.S. trade office zeroes in on forced labor import practices.
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