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Citing concerns over forced labor, the United States has proposed imposing new additional tariffs on a total of 60 countries, including Bangladesh. The Trump administration put forth this proposal on Tuesday (June 2).
According to reports, the proposal suggests imposing an additional 10% or 12.5% tariff on imported goods from these countries. International news agency Reuters reported this development.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) stated that the new tariff structure proposal is based on allegations that goods produced using forced labor create unfair competition in US trade.
Besides Bangladesh, the proposal includes Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
According to USTR, certain countries among these are proposed to face a 10% additional tariff on their products. Meanwhile, plans are underway to impose up to a 12.5% additional tariff on 45 other countries currently under investigation.
This has been released as the latest outcome of an investigation conducted under Section 301 of US law. This section grants the US administration the authority to take action against unfair trade practices.
The proposal comes at a time when the Trump administration has initiated efforts to restructure its emergency tariff framework. Policy re-evaluation began after a US Supreme Court ruling in February nullified parts of the previous tariff system.
According to analysts, if this tariff proposal is implemented, it could create new pressure on international trade, particularly impacting the export sectors of developing countries.