Trump Administration Launches Forced Labor Trade Investigations Against 60 Nations Including China, EU, and Canada

The Trump administration's top trade official launched sweeping investigations Thursday into roughly 60 countries and territories accused of failing to crack down on forced labor, targeting some of the United States' largest trading partners including China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the probes under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law aimed at restricting unfair trade practices. 'For too long, American workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labor,' Greer said in a formal statement.

The legal filings argue that many foreign nations — unlike the United States — lack strong prohibitions on imports produced using forced labor, allowing firms in those countries to 'source, use, and profit from imported products produced with forced labor,' placing American companies at a competitive disadvantage.

While Greer's statement stops short of explicitly threatening tariffs, Section 301 grants his office broad authority to impose tariffs and import restrictions if investigations determine a country engaged in unfair trade practices. The investigations come just one day after Greer announced a separate set of Section 301 probes into 16 U.S. trading partners over allegations of 'structural excess capacity.'

The aggressive use of Section 301 is widely seen as a strategic pivot following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down most of President Trump's tariffs 6-3, finding the administration had improperly used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties, including a baseline 10% levy on most countries and steeper country-by-country tariffs.

Hours after that ruling, Trump imposed 10% tariffs on most foreign imports under Section 122, later signaling an increase to 15%, though no formal rate change has been enacted. Section 122, however, only permits the president to impose tariffs without congressional approval for up to 150 days, creating a ticking clock for the administration.

Greer told reporters the administration's goal is to conclude the new Section 301 investigations before the temporary tariffs expire in July, though he cautioned that timelines cannot be predetermined. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced the administration's intentions, stating on CNBC: 'It's my strong belief that the tariff rates will be back to their old rate within five months.'

The full list of countries and territories facing forced labor investigations includes: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.