US to impose 'forced labour' duties on dozens of economies

The White House will impose new anti-forced labour tariffs on imported goods from 60 trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

These economies include Argentina, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

The latest levies, covering 99.4% of US imports, are set to kick in as temporary 10% global tariffs expire at 12:01am on Friday.

A variable rate of 10 or 12.5%, net of the Most-Favoured-Nation rate, will apply to certain non-exempted products from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland, and a 12.5% levy will be slapped on all other investigated economies.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has notably provided exemptions for oil and gas, fertilizer and some food items - certain products that could lead to domestic supply crunch or cannot be grown or produced in the United States in sufficient quantities or at reasonable prices.