New Zealand could soon face a new 12.5 percent tariff from the United States, as the Trump administration cracks down on 60 countries it says aren’t doing enough to prevent the importation of goods made by forced labour.<\/p>\n
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) says 54 economies – including New Zealand – “have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition” on goods produced with forced labour, which it says “is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce”.<\/p>\n
It’s proposing an additional 12.5 percent duty on this group of countries, which also includes Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Russia, China and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Washington said a further six countries that have prohibitions on such imports are failing to “effectively enforce” them, and could be subject to an extra 10 percent tariff.<\/p>\n
It said failing to restrict goods made by forced labour “undermines the universal aim of eliminating forced labor” and companies that imported such goods were unfairly advantaged by lower costs.<\/p>\n
It also argued countries that didn’t crack down on the practice restricted US commerce “by displacing foreign goods produced without forced labor or forced labor inputs into the United States and other markets”.<\/p>\n
Hearings about the proposed tariffs would be held on 7 July 2026 (US), USTR said. It did not specify what kind of goods might be being imported from New Zealand or other countries that have been made using forced labour.<\/p>\n
RNZ has approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.<\/p>\n
Currently, most New Zealand exports to the US face a\u00a0blanket global tariff rate of 10 percent<\/a>, which was imposed after an earlier 15 percent tariff on New Zealand exports was\u00a0deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n