The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same
By Moses Okorie
The United States has imposed new tariffs of 10 and 12.5 per cent on imports from more than 80 countries, including Nigeria, citing concerns over alleged failures to prevent goods produced with forced labour from entering global supply chains.
The new tariffs, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, replace the earlier global 10 per cent duty introduced by President Donald Trump. The previous tariff regime expires at midnight on Friday.
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the decision follows a five-month investigation into the efforts of America’s trading partners to prohibit and prevent the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The investigation found that Nigeria and 53 other economies had failed to establish and effectively enforce legal prohibitions against the importation of products made wholly or partly through forced labour.
“The following 54 economies have failed to impose a legal prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labour and to effectively enforce such a prohibition,” the USTR stated in its report.
The U.S. government specifically concluded that Nigeria’s failure to implement and enforce a forced labour import ban was “unreasonable” and constituted a burden on U.S. commerce.
According to the report, the USTR determined that Nigeria’s policies and practices relating to forced labour imports restrict fair trade and undermine efforts to eliminate forced labour from international supply chains.
The new tariffs, however, will not apply to oil and gas exports or fertiliser products from affected countries.
The latest measures come after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a previous tariff regime introduced by President Trump last year.
Commenting on the decision, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said forced labour remains a global challenge despite widespread international commitments to eradicate the practice.
“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said.
He added that the new tariffs were intended to address both human rights concerns and unfair trade practices.
“Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and a distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere,” he stated.
The U.S. argued that while many countries have enacted laws against forced labour, enforcement remains inadequate, allowing products made through forced labour to continue entering international markets.
According to Washington, international trade can create economic incentives for forced labour because goods produced under such conditions generate substantial revenues and profits.
The U.S. maintained that eliminating forced labour is both a moral and economic imperative, stressing that trade policy remains a critical tool for achieving that objective.
The report cited findings by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which estimated that 27.6 million people worldwide were living in conditions of forced labour as of 2021—equivalent to 3.5 out of every 1,000 people globally.
The ILO also found that the number of people subjected to forced labour increased between 2016 and 2021, with about 86 per cent of cases occurring in the private sector. Of those, 63 per cent were outside commercial sexual exploitation, making them directly relevant to the production of goods and services traded internationally.
The United States said growing international commitments reflect increasing recognition that goods produced through forced labour should have no place in global trade and should not distort fair competition in international markets.