US imposes new tariffs on Bangladesh, 59 other nations

The United States has begun imposing new import tariffs on goods from Bangladesh and 59 other trading partners, accusing them of failing to adequately curb the importation of goods made with forced labour.

The measure, announced by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and taking effect Friday (July 24), sets additional duties of 10 to 12.5 per cent on close to 99.4 per cent of all goods entering the United States.

It coincides with the expiry of a temporary 10 per cent global tariff that Washington had imposed earlier this year.

USTR said the action was taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, following a formal investigation Washington launched in March into forced labour enforcement across the 60 economies. The new legal basis comes after the US Supreme Court this year struck down the Trump administration's earlier "reciprocal tariffs," which had relied on national emergency powers.

Bangladesh is among 17 economies — also including India, Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom — facing a 10 per cent duty, reflecting either an existing forced labour import ban or a commitment made under a Reciprocal Trade Agreement to enact one. A separate group of five economies — the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland — will see effective rates of 10 to 12.5 per cent layered onto their existing tariff arrangements with the US. The remaining 38 economies, including China, face the full 12.5 per cent rate.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington has enforced a forced labour import ban for nearly a century and argued it was "well past time" for trading partners to follow suit. He said the action was intended to address both a human rights concern and a distortion of fair trade.

Energy products, fertilisers, select food items and goods already covered under existing national security tariffs are exempted from the new duties. USTR said Bangladesh is among several countries eligible for a proposed tariff-rate quota mechanism intended to ease the impact on textile and apparel exports, pending further steps to enforce forced labour prohibitions.

The move has drawn pushback from several affected governments. Norway has argued the tariff is unwarranted given its existing legal safeguards against forced labour-linked trade. Australia and Brazil have called for the tariffs to be withdrawn, while Canada has said it will continue negotiating with Washington on the matter. In the US, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey warned the tariffs would raise costs for businesses, reduce competition and ultimately burden consumers.

Trade analysts note that Section 301, unlike the emergency-powers tariffs struck down earlier this year, rests on a well-established legal precedent, which could make the new duties harder to challenge in court.