‘Forced labour’ rationale for Trump tariffs met with bewilderment

Measures effectively replace blanket 10% tariffs Trump imposed in February that were struck down by US supreme court

Donald Trump has once again inspired anger and confusion in US allies and trading partners as he imposed a wave of tariffs on more than 80 countries, replacing an expiring global duty introduced earlier this year.

The new measures effectively replace blanket 10% tariffs that Trump imposed in February. The US supreme court ruled many of those were illegal. The new levies come in at between 10% and 12.5% on countries including the UK, Mexico, Canada, Australia, India, China and the 27 countries that make up the EU.

They are imposed under section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, and the Trump administration has said the new measures are due to the dozens of countries failing to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labour.

The imposition of the new tariffs led to Asian stock markets taking a hammering overnight.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 3.1%, while the Chinese SSE Composite dropped 1.4%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was the most heavily hit, down 11.4%, while the South Korean Kospi, which is dominated by its major semiconductor companies, slumped 6.2%.

It was more of a mixed picture in Europe as trading began on Friday, with the Stoxx 600, which tracks the biggest companies on the continent, dropping 0.7% before steadying to a fall of 0.1%.

France’s Cac 40 initially fell almost 1% before moving into positive territory, up 0.12%.

Similarly, Germany’s Dax fell 8% before erasing losses to climb 0.51%.

In the UK the FTSE 100 index rose 0.28% in early trading.

For many officials digesting the news on Friday, the US rationale was hard to swallow.

“You can’t say that ⁠for the European Union,” its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said ​on the sidelines ‌of the Asean ‌meeting in Manila.

“If you compare our ‌labour laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so ‌it’s not really grounded.”

Kallas said the EU would seek ​clarification from Washington, adding that the bloc had honoured commitments under a transatlantic trade agreement reached in 2025 and viewed ⁠the new tariffs as a shock.

“We had ​a ​deal with America, ​and we have kept to ​that deal, that ‌side of ​the ​deal,” she said. “That’s why this is a negative surprise that this agreement is not kept.”

Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they would seek to have them removed. Norway’s foreign minister said there was no basis for the tariff against Norway because the country already had “clear rules that are intended to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labour”.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “We oppose all forms of unilateral tariff measures. Tariff wars and trade wars are not in the interests of any party.”

New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, called them “extremely disappointing” and said the US had not provided “meaningful evidence to support claims in relation to forced labour”.

On announcing the tariffs on Thursday, the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said the US had rigorously policed its own forced labour import ban for almost a century, adding: “It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.”

However, critics argued the measure was an effort by the Trump administration to rebuild the president’s tariff wall after the supreme court struck down many of his duties in February.

“Today’s forced labour justification is too convenient to be taken seriously,” said Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the US House ways and means committee. “Forced labour is a real and pervasive problem in our supply chains and demands serious enforcement. It should never be cheapened into a pretext for a tariff policy built on dubious legal theories and personal grievances.’’

The Trump administration had been hunting for options that would allow it to aggressively deploy tariffs, the former US trade official Ryan Majerus said. The new measures were planned after months of investigation and are considered more resistant to legal challenges.

Under Thursday’s announcement, countries that have implemented a forced labour import prohibition or committed to do so were hit with the lower 10% rate – among them Canada, the EU, India and the UK.

A UK government spokesperson said that the tariff situation with the US remained unchanged by the latest move from the White House.

“There is no change to the tariff rate facing UK businesses as a result of this announcement,” the spokesperson said. “The UK remains on a 10% tariff rate and the preferential access secured under our agreement with the United States remains in place.”

He added: “We take forced labour very seriously and ensure that in global supply chains UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations.

“The US has recognised the steps the UK is taking, which is why there are no additional tariffs for the UK under this announcement.”

China, Japan, South Korea and dozens of others were deemed to deserve the higher 12.5% tariff.

Japan’s chief government spokesperson, Minoru Kihara, said the country’s industry and trade were “conducted in accordance with international rules”, adding that Tokyo regretted the new US measures.

In the Canadian province of Ontario, officials were getting ready to open a new bridge to the US over the Detroit River, which is expected to enhance trade on both sides of the border.

A celebration with officials from both countries was to be held but Canada rejected the joint gathering after Trump this week suddenly announced a 50% tariff on Canadian goods entering the US.

Government officials issued a muted response to the latest news, saying it was “not unexpected”.

Friday’s measure is unlikely to be the last word from the White House on tariffs. Washington is separately investigating 16 economies for alleged excess industrial capacity – which experts warn will probably lead to additional duties.

With Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse