The US has imposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from Nigeria as part of a new trade measure targeting countries it says have failed to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The tariff applies to imports from 60 economies that Washington claims have not “imposed and effectively enforced a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”.
On Thursday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the proposal in a statement posted on its website.
Nigeria is one of the nations subject to the 12.5% duty, while India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom will suffer a 10% levy after adopting or pledging to enforce restrictions on imports linked to forced labour.
The move follows the USTR’s May 2026 inquiry into 60 of the United States’ top trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act.
The agency received more than 1,600 written submissions, had public hearings with over 100 witnesses, and conferred with more than 45 governments before imposing the levies.
The USTR stated that nations that have already implemented, or have committed to implementing, forced labour import prohibitions will face a 10% duty.
“10 per cent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for investigated economies that (i) (i) (i) impose a forced labour import prohibition; (ii) have committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade; or (iii) have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labour goods.
“These economies are Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
“10 per cent or 12.5 per cent, net of the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rate, is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for certain products of the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland that are not otherwise exempted, as explained in greater detail in the Federal Register Notice.”
It added that “12.5 per cent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duty for all other investigated economies.”
Specifically on Nigeria, a Federal Register notice obtained from the USTR on Friday noted that the country would be subjected to a 12.5 per cent tariff on its products, except for items listed under specified exemptions.
It read, “Based on the findings in the investigation of Nigeria, considering the public comments, testimony, and the advice of the Section 301 Committee, as well as the advice of advisory committees, and in accordance with the specific direction of the President, the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5 per cent tariffs on products of Nigeria, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this notice.
“The Trade Representative has determined, in accordance with the specific direction of the President, that the tariff rate to be applied and the scope of tariffs and exemptions are appropriate to obtain the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices determined to be actionable in the investigation.”
The latest action comes after President Donald Trump used Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a temporary universal tariff on imports after the US Supreme Court halted his administration’s larger tariff proposal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the action is intended to encourage trading partners to tighten anti-forced labour laws.
“President Trump recognises that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labour from global supply chains,” Greer said.
“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.”
The USTR stated that the tariffs would not apply to certain products, such as raw materials that could cause domestic supply shortages, goods that could cause economic disruptions, products that are not available in sufficient quantities in the US or from alternative sources, and selected goods from countries that have adopted or pledged to implement forced labour import bans.
It further stated that additional exclusions were provided in cases where tariffs were deemed unlikely to abolish the trade practices being investigated.
