Tariffs on forced labor without worker safeguards: a flawed approach

As of June 2026, the USTR has proposed Section 301 tariffs of 10–12.5% on imports from 60 economies—including China (with sectors under UFLPA already), the EU, Japan, and Britain—for failing to enforce prohibitions on forced labor, as documented in the official USTR report (https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/2026/USTR%20Report%20Sec%20301%20FL%20301%206-2-26%20FINAL%20for%20upload.pdf). This is distinct from the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which already requires importers to prove goods from Xinjiang are free of forced labor. The new tariffs add a unilateral penalty on top of that rebuttable-presumption regime, targeting government-level enforcement failures rather than providing remediation or inspection programs for actual workers.

The core problem is that tariffs alone cannot ensure clean supply chains. Without independent worker-led monitoring or remediation funds, the policy risks raising consumer prices and shuffling trade flows without improving conditions for vulnerable workers. A fair-trade alternative would pair targeted tariffs with mandatory certification schemes, worker-led monitoring, and remediation funds—ensuring that anti–forced-labor policy improves conditions for vulnerable workers, not just reshuffles market shares. Labor and environmental standards must be preconditions, not afterthoughts.