Thailand among 60 economies facing proposed extra US tariffs over forced labour
USTR names Thailand in a Section 301 forced-labour case, with the country potentially facing a 12.5% tariff tier pending July hearings
Thailand drawn into new US forced-labour tariff push
Thailand has been pulled into a sweeping new US trade action that could place an additional 12.5% tariff on Thai goods, after Washington accused dozens of trading partners of failing to stop products made with forced labour from moving through global markets.
USTR said it had made Section 301 findings against 60 economies over failure to impose or effectively enforce bans on imports of goods made with forced labour.
Thailand is specifically named in USTR’s list of the 54 economies in that finding.
USTR then proposed extra duties on products from the investigated economies, with 10% for economies that already have a forced-labour import ban, reciprocal-trade commitments, or partial regimes, and 12.5% for “all other economies”.
China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines were also included in the same broad finding, alongside economies across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
The proposal is not yet final. USTR is seeking public comment before deciding whether to proceed, with written submissions due by July 6 and public hearings scheduled for July 7. Requests to appear at the hearings must be submitted by June 22.
Thailand appears to fall into higher tariff tier
The proposed structure gives a lower 10% tariff to economies that already have a forced-labour import ban, have made commitments under reciprocal trade agreements, or have partial measures that block some forced-labour goods.
These include Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Thailand is not listed in that 10% group. Under the Federal Register notice, all other economies found to have failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labour import prohibition would face the higher 12.5% additional tariff, unless the final measure is changed after the consultation process.
In its Thailand-specific finding, USTR acknowledged that Thailand had highlighted efforts to strengthen labour practices at home and in international supply chains, including commercial incentives for responsible business conduct and a draft Human Rights and Environmental Bill.
However, USTR said those steps did not yet amount to a legal measure that forbids imports of goods produced with forced labour.
Washington frames tariff as labour and trade issue
USTR is presenting the measure as both a labour-rights action and a trade remedy.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said major trading partners’ failure to address forced-labour goods had left American workers competing on what he called an “unlevel playing field”.
The move gives the Trump administration another route to apply trade pressure after earlier emergency tariff powers suffered a legal setback.
Reuters reported that the forced-labour tariff proposal is part of a wider effort to rebuild tariff tools through Section 301, the US trade law used to respond to practices deemed unfair or harmful to US commerce.
The proposed tariff would apply broadly to goods from the targeted economies, though USTR has outlined exemptions for some products.
Reuters reported that excluded categories include energy, rare earths and certain other metals, beef, coffee, some fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals and aircraft parts.
Textile mechanism could matter for exporters
A separate textile mechanism is also under consideration. USTR said it may allow certain volumes of apparel and textile imports from selected trading partners to enter the US at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate, linked partly to the amount of US textile inputs, cotton or cotton products those partners import.
That detail could be important for export-oriented manufacturers in Asia, including Thailand, because textiles and apparel often sit near the centre of forced-labour scrutiny in global supply chains.
The final design of the mechanism, including volumes and rates, has not yet been fixed.
The broader context is increasingly sensitive. The International Labour Organization estimates that 27.6 million people are in forced labour worldwide, with 63% of forced labour occurring in the private economy.
The ILO also estimates that forced labour generates illegal profits of US$236 billion a year.
For Thailand, the immediate issue is whether the government and affected industries can use the consultation period to clarify existing labour safeguards, supply-chain controls and any legal steps that could reduce the risk of being kept in the higher tariff tier.
Until USTR issues a final decision, the proposed 12.5% tariff remains a warning rather than an enforced measure.
But the direction of travel is clear: access to the US market is increasingly being tied not only to price and production capacity, but to whether exporting economies can prove that forced labour is being kept out of their supply chains.
