Trump slugs Australia with new 'forced-labour' tariffs

US President Donald Trump will slug trading partners, including Australia, with new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on the premise of pressuring foreign governments to strengthen bans on "the importation of goods produced with forced labour."

Australia is listed among 59 other economies that "have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour," according to a Federal Register notice.

Australia will cop a 12.5% tariff, alongside countries such as New Zealand, the Philippines, Oman, Russia, Colombia, China and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UK, and Trinidad and Tobago face a 10% tariff.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the action covers the top 60 trading partners, representing 99.4% of US imports and is a means to address human rights abuses and distortive trade practices while tackling competitive distortions in global trade.

"President Trump is using both tariffs and trade deals to support American workers and correct trade imbalances, by eliminating trade barriers abroad and supporting domestic manufacturing at home," Greer said.

"Today's action strikes an overdue blow against the prevalence of forced labour in global supply chains and sends a clarion call to the world to join the United States in adopting the most common-sense of policies to combat this indefensible practice."

On February 20, the US Supreme Court terminated the reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in April 2025. The court deemed the Liberation Day policies unlawful.

Trump subsequently imposed a global, blanket 10% Temporary Import Surcharge, which applied to most goods imported to the US. Some goods are subject to a higher tariff rate, while others are exempt. These temporary levies expire today, with the forced-labour tariffs set to replace them.

Greer added the move forms part of the Trump administration's broader "America First" trade agenda, which has increasingly relied on tariffs and bilateral trade agreements to reshape global trade relationships.

"President Trump is tackling modern-day slavery at its source by requiring our trading partners to enact and enforce import bans to ensure products made by workers under such horrifying conditions are no longer traded in global commerce," he said.