US launches labour probe on 60 economies

Washington, March 13 (IANS) The United States has launched investigations into 60 economies, including the European Union, India, Japan, and China, to determine whether their failure to ban imports made with forced labour unfairly harms American workers and businesses.

The sweeping probe was initiated by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 and targets some of Washington’s largest trading partners.

The investigations will examine whether the acts, policies, and practices of these economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports made with forced labour are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce.”

“Despite the international consensus against forced labor, governments have failed to impose and effectively enforce measures banning goods produced with forced labor from entering their markets,” US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said.

“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 added.

The investigations will determine whether governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labour and how the failure to eradicate such practices affects US workers and businesses.

Countries and regions listed in the probe include India, China, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, Brazil, Mexico, and dozens of other trading partners.

Under US law, Section 301 allows Washington to respond to foreign government practices that are considered unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory and that burden or restrict US commerce.

The USTR can initiate such investigations on its own authority and determine whether the practices of foreign countries meet the legal threshold for potential trade action.

As part of the process, the United States has requested consultations with the governments of the economies under investigation.

The investigations will assess whether the absence of effective bans on forced-labour imports allows companies to profit from unfair labour practices and gain artificially low production costs that distort global competition.

According to USTR documents, forced labour continues to persist across global supply chains despite longstanding international agreements prohibiting the practice. The agency said such exploitation can undermine legitimate producers and distort markets by allowing goods made with lower labour costs to enter international trade.

US law has prohibited the importation of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labour for nearly a century, reflecting both humanitarian concerns and the economic impact on domestic industries.

International estimates suggest the problem remains widespread. The International Labour Organization has estimated that roughly 28 million people worldwide were in forced labour as of 2021, generating about $63.9 billion in annual profits in the global private economy.