THE United States has imposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from Nigeria as part of a new trade measure targeting countries Washington says have failed to prohibit the importation of goods produced through forced labour.
News Point Nigeria reports that the tariff is part of a wider measure affecting 60 economies that the United States says have not “imposed and effectively enforced a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.”
The measure was announced in a statement published on Thursday by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
Nigeria is among the countries that will face the higher 12.5 per cent tariff, while countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and the United Kingdom will attract a lower 10 per cent rate after adopting or committing to implement bans on imports linked to forced labour.
The latest action followed investigations launched by the USTR in May 2026 into 60 of the United States’ largest trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act.
According to the agency, it received more than 1,600 written submissions, conducted public hearings involving over 100 witnesses, and consulted more than 45 governments before reaching its decision.
The USTR explained that countries that had already introduced forced labour import prohibitions, or committed to implementing such measures, would attract a lower 10 per cent tariff.
The agency stated: “10 percent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duties for investigated economies that (i) impose a forced labor import prohibition; (ii) have committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade; or (iii) have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labor goods.”
The economies listed under the 10 per cent tariff category include Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
The USTR added that some products from the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland would attract either a 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent tariff, depending on applicable exemptions and existing Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rates.
It stated that: “12.5 percent is the appropriate rate of Section 301 duty for all other investigated economies.”
Specifically on Nigeria, a Federal Register notice obtained from the USTR on Friday confirmed that Nigerian products would be subjected to a 12.5 per cent tariff, except for goods covered under specified exemptions.
The notice stated: “Based on the findings in the investigation of Nigeria, considering the public comments, testimony, and the advice of the Section 301 Committee, as well as the advice of advisory committees, and in accordance with the specific direction of the President, the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5 percent tariffs on products of Nigeria, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this Notice.”
It added that the tariff rate, scope of affected products and exemptions were considered appropriate measures to eliminate what the US classified as actionable acts, policies and practices identified during the investigation.
The new trade measure comes after President Donald Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a temporary universal tariff on imports following the US Supreme Court’s decision blocking his administration’s broader tariff plan under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the latest action was aimed at encouraging trading partners to strengthen measures against forced labour.
“President Trump recognises that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labour from global supply chains,” Greer said.
“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.”
The USTR said the tariffs would not apply to certain categories of products, including raw materials that could create domestic supply shortages, goods capable of causing economy-wide disruptions, products unavailable in sufficient quantities within the United States or from alternative sources, and selected goods from countries that have adopted or pledged to implement forced labour import bans.
The agency also stated that additional exemptions would be granted where imposing tariffs was considered unlikely to eliminate the trade practices under investigation.
The latest tariff regime adds another layer to ongoing trade discussions between the United States and its trading partners, including Nigeria, as Washington intensifies efforts to reshape global supply chains and combat the use of forced labour in international commerce.