USTR launches investigations into Korea, 59 other economies over failure to ban forced labor-linked imports

WASHINGTON — The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday opened investigations into 60 economies, including Korea, China and Japan, to determine whether their governments have taken sufficient steps to ban the importation of goods produced with forced labor. The office said the investigations were initiated under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to roll out new tariffs to replace the country-specific emergency tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down last month. The investigations will determine whether acts, policies and practices of the economies related to the failure to impose and enforce a ban on imports produced with forced labor are “unreasonable” or “discriminatory,” and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, the office said. The countries subject to the investigations include Korea, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Britain, Australia, Canada and Taiwan. “Despite the international consensus against forced labor, governments have failed to impose and effectively enforce measures banning goods produced with f

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