The US has slapped a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from Nigeria under a new trade policy aimed at countries that Washington says have failed to ban the importation of goods made with forced labour.
The U.S. said it would take such actions against imports from 60 economies that have not “imposed and effectively enforced a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour,” the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced Thursday.
Countries subject to the 12.5 per cent tariff include Nigeria, while a lower 10 per cent tariff will apply to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and the United Kingdom, after they implemented or pledged to implement bans on imports associated with forced labour.
This follows Section 301 investigations launched by the USTR in May 2026 into 60 of the United States’ largest trading partners under the Trade Act.
Before announcing the measures, the agency said it received more than 1,600 written submissions, heard testimony from more than 100 witnesses and consulted with more than 45 governments.
The USTR said countries that already had, or had committed to, forced labour import prohibitions in place would face a 10 per cent tariff.
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“10 per cent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for investigated economies that (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,” the agency said.
The USTR said in a notice in the Federal Register that Nigeria will be subject to a 12.5 percent tariff on exports to the United States, with the exception of products subject to certain exemptions.
Said: “Based on the findings of the investigation of Nigeria, and after considering the public comments, testimony, and 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 percent tariffs on products of Nigeria, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this Notice.”
The Trade Representative has determined 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, in accordance with the specific direction of the President.
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 U.S. Supreme Court blocked his administration’s broader tariff plan under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the new tariffs were designed to encourage trading partners to ramp up measures against forced labour.
“President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labour from global supply chains,” Greer said.
“The US has had a ban on forced labour imports for almost 100 years. It is time our trading partners did the same.
The USTR said the tariffs would not apply to certain exempted products, such as raw materials that could create domestic supply shortages, goods capable of causing wider economic disruptions, products unavailable in sufficient quantities in the United States or from alternative suppliers, and selected imports from countries that have adopted or pledged to implement forced labour import bans.
It said additional exemptions were granted where tariffs were unlikely to eliminate the trade practices under investigation.
