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Late yesterday, following initiation of a new round of Section 301 investigations related to structural excess capacity and production in the manufacturing sectors against sixteen economies, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ("USTR") announced an additional round of investigations against sixty key trading partners on the basis of the alleged “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” The goal of the new investigations is to determine whether the named countries have in place acts, policies or practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce. The President could then impose additional tariffs against the targeted economies. The named countries/economies are included in Annex A of the Federal Register notice accompanying USTR’s announcement. USTR summarizes the new Section 301 investigations in a fact sheet here.
The forced labor investigations hit globally, including many trade partners not traditionally associated with forced labor concerns such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union. USTR claims that, although some of the targeted countries have adopted measures to prohibit forced labor, those measures are insufficient. USTR further notes that “[i]n the absence of a forced labor import prohibition that is effectively enforced, firms can continue to source, use, and profit from imported products produced with forced labor, even if the use of forced labor is prohibited domestically.” USTR also alleges that “failure to prevent trade in products produced with forced labor may negatively affect U.S. commerce” and the “conditions of competition may skew to favor artificially low-cost imports produced by forced labor or incorporating forced labor inputs.”
As noted in our previous alert from yesterday, Section 301 investigations must follow specific administrative procedures, including a public comment period and a public hearing, prior to application of new tariffs. For the latest investigations on forced labor, USTR invites comments from the public on the following topics:
- Whether any economy subject to these investigations maintains or is in the process of establishing a forced labor import prohibition, and whether any such import prohibition is being effectively enforced.
- The extent to which the failure of any economy to establish and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition is unreasonable, discriminates against U.S. goods, or constitutes a persistent pattern of conduct that permits any form of forced or compulsory labor.
- The extent to which the failure of any economy to establish and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition has negatively affected U.S. commerce, such as through lost U.S. exports or economic output, lower prices for U.S. goods, or lower wages for U.S. workers.
- What action, if any, should be taken to address these issues, including:
- The level and scope, if any, of duties on products of any economy subject to these investigations.
- The level and scope, if any, of import restrictions on products of any economy subject to these investigations.
- The appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by any additional duties on products of any economy subject to these investigations.
The docket for interested parties to submit comments on the Section 301 investigations on forced labor is here. USTR will begin public hearings on these investigations on April 28, 2026. Parties interested in appearing at the hearings must submit a request through USTR’s hearing docket here. The deadline to submit comments and hearing requests is April 15, 2026.
Once tariffs are imposed under Section 301, the President has broad discretion to raise, lower and broaden the scope of the tariffs in place. With two major rounds of Section 301 investigations being announced this week, it is clear that the Trump administration seeks to replace the world-wide tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that were recently struck down by the Supreme Court.
Please let us know if you are interested in participating in the public comment or hearing process or have any questions.
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