On June 2, 2026, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its determination in the Section 301 investigations of 60 economies relating to failures to take action on trade in goods produced with forced labor. USTR found that each economy’s acts, policies, and practices in this area are unreasonable, burden or restrict U.S. commerce, and are therefore actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974.
Proposed action
USTR proposes to impose additional ad valorem duties on all products of the 60 investigated economies, subject to exclusions set out in Annex A to the Federal Register notice. The proposed structure is:
10% additional duty
Applies to economies that have adopted, committed to adopt, or partially implemented a forced‑labor import prohibition.
12.5% additional duty
Applies to all other investigated economies that do not meet the above criteria.
Textile mechanism
Allows a specified volume of apparel and textile imports from certain economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 rate.
The notice does not address stacking of those duties on top of other tariff regimes. The duties are therefore presumed to stack.
Comment period and hearing
The comment period opened with the June 2 notice. Key deadlines follow:
June 22, 2026 — Requests to appear at the hearing, with a summary of testimony, due.
July 6, 2026 — Written comments on the proposed actions due.
July 7, 2026 — USTR public hearing on the proposed Section 301 measures.
Submissions can be made through USTR’s online comment portal. USTR invites comment on all aspects of the proposed actions, including the level of the additional duties, the scope of product coverage, any exclusions, and the operation of the proposed textile mechanism.
Please contact us should you wish to discuss the impact on your products, prepare written comments, or an appearance at the hearing.