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The Trump administration this week unveiled its latest plan to hike tariffs, this time focused on the ostensible harms that the prevalence of forced labor in global supply chains do to U.S. commerce. 

The latest action would levy tariffs of 10 percent to 12.5 percent on 59 countries and the European Union (making up 99 percent of all U.S. trade), all of whom, the Trump administration says, are lax about regulating forced or compulsory labor in their supply chains.

The Trump administration this week unveiled its latest plan to hike tariffs, this time focused on the ostensible harms that the prevalence of forced labor in global supply chains do to U.S. commerce. 

The latest action would levy tariffs of 10 percent to 12.5 percent on 59 countries and the European Union (making up 99 percent of all U.S. trade), all of whom, the Trump administration says, are lax about regulating forced or compulsory labor in their supply chains.

But every trade expert and lawyer understands that the latest use of Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act—even more than the use this spring of Section 301 to combat “excess capacity” in other economies—is simply another way for U.S. President Donald Trump to levy tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs earlier this year.

“The ‘findings’ are in many ways what many of us expected: an excuse to levy across-the-board tariffs,” said Inu Manak, a trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Why not just target tariffs on those specific products where forced labor is present? It seems to be a solution in search of a problem.”

What is especially noteworthy about the latest broadside from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) against trade is how unsubstantiated it is, as was made clear during days of hearings earlier this year, written comments by affected countries and industries, and........

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