Section 301 (2026) Tariff Litigation

Current Section 301 forced-labor tariffs arise from a separate set of 60 country-specific investigations initiated by USTR on March 12, 2026. USTR investigated whether each covered economy had failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on imports of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labor, pursuant to Section 302(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2412(b)(1).

On June 2, 2026, USTR found the practices at issue unreasonable and burdensome or restrictive of U.S. commerce under Section 301(b), 19 U.S.C. § 2411(b), and, following notice-and-comment proceedings, imposed responsive duties effective July 24, 2026.

The measures generally impose an additional 10 percent or 12.5 percent ad valorem duty on virtually all products of the 60 investigated economies, subject to specified HTSUS, country-specific, and statutory exclusions. The 10 percent rate applies to Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom; the European Union and Taiwan are subject to a rate that brings the combined MFN and Section 301 duty to 10 percent, while Japan, Korea, and Switzerland are capped at a combined 12.5 percent. Products of the remaining investigated economies—including China and Vietnam—are generally subject to an additional 12.5 percent duty.

These tariffs are intended to pressure trading partners to enact and effectively enforce forced-labor import prohibitions; they are not themselves a finding that an individual imported article was made with forced labor. USTR expressly took an economy-wide approach and relied on its authority to act against goods whether or not the particular goods or sector were involved in the underlying practice. See 19 U.S.C. § 2411(b)(1)–(2), § 2411(c)(1)(B), § 2411(c)(3)(B). The action therefore operates independently from U.S. forced-labor exclusion enforcement.

The tariff program is already being challenged in the Court of International Trade.

25 states have filed actions seeking to invalidate the new forced-labor tariffs and recover duties, contending, among other things, that the determinations and economy-wide duties are arbitrary and capricious and do not satisfy Section 301’s statutory prerequisites. USTR anticipated judicial challenges by treating each economy’s investigation and tariff action as severable, maintaining that an adverse ruling as to one country or aspect of the program should not invalidate the remaining actions.

Curated News:

July 28, 2026: USTR: Federal Register publication of the July 23rd 301 announcement.

July 23, 2026: USTR issued final Section 301 action imposing additional forced-labor tariffs of 10 percent or 12.5 percent on imports from 60 covered economies, with specified product and country exceptions.

June 24, 2026: USTR Opens New Section 301 Investigation into Germany's Pharmaceutical Pricing

May 29, 2026: Active USTR Section 301 Investigations: Status & Timelines (May 2026)

March 17, 2026: Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure of Each Economy To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, 91 Fed. Reg. 12,884 (Mar. 17, 2026);

July 8, 2026: Witnesses Urge Higher Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs on Vietnam and China as Targeted Countries Challenge USTR's Evidence

May 29, 2026: Active USTR Section 301 Investigations: Status & Timelines (May 2026)