The United States is threatening to impose trade tariffs of up to 12.5 per cent on 60 countries, including Australia, over their inaction on forced and slave labour worldwide.

On Wednesday, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said:

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable.”

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded that a new tariff on exports to the US was “unjustified”, as Australia has “robust, comprehensive and world-leading legislation addressing forced labour and modern slavery”.

Who’s right? And are the US claims about other nations turning a blind eye to forced and slave labour – where a person is either forced to work, or even owned by someone else – actually true?

Which countries face new tariffs

In a new report released by the US Trade Representative, 54 countries – including Australia, China, New Zealand and Britain – were found to 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.

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.

All face a proposed 12.5 per cent tariff on their exports to the US.

Another six economies – including Canada, the European Union and Indonesia – face lower 10 per cent tariffs. They were seen to have done........

© The New Daily