Forced Labor Section 301 Duties Start Friday at 12:01 a.m.

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Jul. 23, 2026
By: David G. Forgue

When President Trump imposed Section 122 duties of 10% on most imports the trade community circled July 24, 2026 as the date the duties would expire. It turns out the administration had also circled the date. On the afternoon of July 23 the USTR issued a draft Federal Register notice imposing new duties to start exactly when 122 duties end (although there is a very short “in transit” exemption for goods laden by 12:01 a.m. on July 24 and arriving by July 28).

These duties are under Section 301 and are ostensibly to address uneven enforcement of bans (or a lack of bans) on goods made with forced labor. The administration has found that this uneven enforcement disadvantages U.S. workers by creating a market for inexpensive goods made with forced labor.

The tariffs apply in subtly different ways to different countries. Goods from Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and

Trinidad and Tobago will have a 10% rate, without respect to any MFN duties also paid.

The EU and Taiwan will have a net 10% rate, inclusive of the Forced Labor 301 and MFN duties. Japan, Korea, and Switzerland will have a net 12.5% rate, inclusive of the Forced Labor 301 and MFN duties. In each case the Forced Labor 301 rate will be 0% if the MFN exceeds the net rate.

All other investigated countries will have a 12.5% rate, without respect to any MFN duties paid.

There are a few interesting wrinkles. First, there are a range of exemptions from the Forced Labor 301 duties. These are largely articles that cannot be sourced in the United States but also includes articles for which “these tariffs may not be effective in obtaining the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices of economies found to be actionable in the investigations,” and certain articles from specific countries deemed able to be “encouraged” to “enact and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition.”

Also of note, articles subject to an existing Section 232 case are exempt, as are products of Canada or Mexico that qualify for USMCA benefits, and some textile products covered by DR-CAFTA. The UK, EU, Switzerland, and select other countries have tariff-specific exemptions as well.

The new 301 case also establishes a tariff-rate quota system for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia to be able to increase their imports of U.S. cotton and export textiles without paying Forced Labor 301 duties.

The new duties will be located at 9903.05.20 through 9903.06.21. It is to be hoped that importers and brokers will be able to avoid having flashbacks to the early IEEPA days when they say pages and pages of country-specific duties.

If you need help pursuing your refunds from the last tariffs, managing the current tariffs, or planning for the next tariffs, do not hesitate to contact any attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP.