There has been widespread anger and bewilderment from America’s allies over the rationale used by Donald Trump to impose a raft of tariffs.
Trump has reignited a global trade war this week by imposing new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the UK, European Union and China.
The tariffs will cover pretty much all American imports and will replaced an identical levy which was due to expire today (July 24).
But whilst there is understandably anger over the tariffs, just as there has been from the day Trump started his trade war on ‘Liberation Day‘ last year, this time there is also bewilderment over the reasoning given for the levies.
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Some of you might remember that earlier this year the US Supreme Court ruled that many of the tariffs imposed globally under emergency powers by Trump were illegally enacted.
So, this time, the White House has found a loophole to get these tariffs through the door.
These tariffs are imposed under section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, and are based on claims that America’s economic partners have failed to properly tackle forced labour.
The Trump administration claims that dozens of countries it trades with have failed to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labour.
There’s been astonishment from many at this suggestion.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters “You can’t say that for the European Union,” in regards to claims of forced labour.
“If you compare our labour laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded,” she said.
Meanwhile, Australia, Brazil, Norway and New Zealand have all expressed their disappointment at the tariffs, saying there is no basis for them.
Experts also agree there is little basis behind the forced labour rationale.
US trade expert Caroline Freund told the BBC the move is “not about forced labour” but that Trump is simply “looking for a legal reason to put the tariffs in”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, she said: “I think they were looking for a legal reason to put the tariffs in and that they can maintain them because their goals and [Jamieson] Greer has been very clear about this, as has Trump, is about the trade deficit and it is about US manufacturing, it is not about forced labour.”
Announcing the tariffs on Thursday, US trade representative Greer said the US had rigorously policed its own forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and that it is “well past time for our trading partners to do the same”.