On July 23 local time, the Trump administration announced a new round of tax increases, targeting China, Japan, South Korea, India, and 60 countries and regions including EU member states, under the pretext of ‘forced labor’.
According to Reuters, later in the day, the Brazilian government stated that the US actions were 'arbitrary' and 'unreasonable'.
The Brazilian government stated in a statement: "Due to the lack of domestic legal basis to support its protectionist trade policies, the U.S. Trade Representative chose to manipulate an issue that is crucial for human rights and worker rights movements."
According to this measure, the United States will impose a 12.5% tariff on Brazilian goods.
The statement indicates that Brazil will immediately initiate countermeasures under the Reciprocal Trade Act and will submit this matter to the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanism.
Last week, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on several Brazilian goods, attributing this action to "unfair trade practices." Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula responded by saying that he was willing to negotiate with the United States, but also emphasized that if it was impossible to sell products in the US, Brazil would seek other markets.
On Thursday evening, just hours before a temporary 10% comprehensive tariff expired, the United States announced a new round of tariffs on 60 countries and regions, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, and EU member states.
The tariff rates range from 10% to 12.5%. U.S. Trade Representative Jaime Johnson said in a statement, “The actions taken today will begin to correct practices that violate human rights and distort trade, thereby improving the welfare of workers around the world.”
However, experts say that the alleged “forced labor” accusations are merely a pretext for increasing taxes, and part of Trump’s overall trade agenda of “America First”.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that the United States has still not approved its accession to the Forced Labour Convention of 1930, refusing to comply with international rules. However, the US has long been manipulating the issue of "forced labour." The US's initiation of the 301 investigation against China and related economies is a typical act of protectionism, characterized by unilateralness, arbitrariness, and discrimination.
The WTO Appellate Body has already ruled that the US's 301 tariff measures against China violate WTO rules. The US's repeated abuse of the 301 investigation procedure, by applying domestic laws above international rules, is an act of further error. This seriously undermines the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, as well as disrupts the international economic and trade order.
