To gain further leverage in negotiations with its trade partners on tariffs, the US has opened another investigation against 60 countries, including India, to determine whether they failed to stop the import of goods produced with ‘forced’ labour.
“The investigations will determine whether acts, policies, and practices of each of these economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce,” a statement from the US Trade Representative’s office said.
These investigations — launched under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 — involve countries such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others.
This move comes a day after the US launched an investigation against India, European Union, China and 13 other countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act. This investigation will cover the review of their policies and interventions that help them build “excess capacities” at home for exports to other countries. Here too the focus of the probe is to check the harm these excess capacities have on local US manufacturing.
Other countries that are a target of this investigation are Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico and Japan.
Both these measures are attempts by the US to bring back the extra tariffs the US had imposed on all its trade partners that were invalidated by the US Supreme Court on February 20.
Immediately after the court’s ruling the US imposed 10% additional duties on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act. These surcharges to address large and serious balance of payment deficits can be imposed only for 150 days and their upper limit is 15%. The use of Section 301 will enable the US to continue with extra tariffs.
The extra tariffs have given the US a leverage in its trade negotiations and has enabled it to secure duty free access to American exports and promise of investments and purchases.
TOPICSTrump TariffThis article was first uploaded on March thirteen, twenty twenty-six, at sixteen minutes past ten in the night.