What happened
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) proposed additional tariffs on imports from 60 economies including Pakistan, after determining that they had failed to impose or effectively enforce a prohibition on importing goods made with forced labour.
In a statement issued on 2 June 2026 and reported the following day, the USTR said the findings followed investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It proposed additional duties of 10 per cent for economies that already have a forced-labour import prohibition, have committed to one through a trade agreement, or operate a partial regime, and 12.5 per cent for all others.
Pakistan was named among six economies — with Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia and Mexico — found to have failed to effectively enforce an existing prohibition, placing it in the 10 per cent tier. Other economies proposed for 10 per cent duties included Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Taiwan and Britain. The remaining 45 investigated economies, among them China, India, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, were proposed for 12.5 per cent.
Why it matters
The proposal matters for Pakistan because the United States is a major export market, and the duties, if finalised, would add to the cost of Pakistani goods entering it. The USTR said the failure to enforce forced-labour import bans undermines efforts to keep forced labour out of global supply chains and disadvantages American workers. The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, said the failure of key trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour was “unacceptable”.
The measures are not final. The USTR opened a public comment period, with written comments due by 6 July and public hearings due to begin on 7 July before a final determination. The announcement came ahead of the 24 July expiration of a temporary 10 per cent tariff imposed by the Trump administration on 20 February 2026, after the US Supreme Court struck down earlier tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Several trading partners rejected the findings. China said it opposed all forms of unilateral tariffs and denied the forced-labour allegations, the European Commission called the proposed tariffs unjustified, and Switzerland rejected the US findings on how economies handle goods produced by forced labour. The proposed action follows earlier Pakistan-US trade engagement, which KhabarWire reported here.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting and official statements, not independent reporting. Details and quotations are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 2026-06-03.
- Office of the US Trade Representative — "USTR Makes Findings and Proposes Action in 60 Section 301 Investigations Relating to Failures to Take Action"2 June 2026 · Official announcement of the findings, the 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent tiers and the six economies that failed to enforce bans.
- Dawn — "US proposes new tariffs on 60 economies, including Pakistan, over failure to act on forced labour"3 June 2026 · Reports the proposal, the tier Pakistan falls into and the reactions from China, the EU and Switzerland.
- Pro Pakistani — "Pakistan Could Face New US Tariffs Over Forced Labour Concern"3 June 2026 · Pakistan-focused account of the 10 per cent proposal, the comment period and the 24 July deadline.
