Guest Post: Make the Forced Labor 301 Tariffs a Win for Workers
“I had to store my friend’s dead body in the freezer.” A fisher shared this with me and my colleagues at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) through an interpreter.
Topic
Trade and Labor
29 posts
Will There Be Further Adjustments to the Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs If Forced Labor Laws Improve?
On Thursday, USTR announced its final tariff rates in the Section 301 investigation on forced labor imports. There are a wide range of ideas for how to challenge these tariffs in court, with some ideas broader than others. One broad approach would be to argue that these tariffs are just
Governments Make Their Case Against Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs
Last month, USTR made a determination in its Section 301 investigation into "Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Related to the Failure To Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced With Forced Labor."
The Section 301 Forced Labor Import Ban Report
On June 2, 2026, USTR released its report on its Section 301 investigation into acts, policies, and practices of various economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.
The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans
This Section 301 investigation intends to pressure all sixty named trade partners (even, inexplicably, including Canada and Mexico) to adopt similar enforcement procedures. This announcement is highly problematic for the four reasons I address below.
Comparing the Forced Labor Provisions in the New U.S. Trade Deals
Continuing my multi-part blog posting series on comparing provisions in the Trump administration trade agreements, let's look now at the provisions that try to induce U.S. trading partners to take action against imports made with forced labor.
Lessons from the First U.S. Win in a Trade and Labor Dispute: The USMCA RRM Atento Decision
For the first time, an arbitral panel has sided with the United States in a trade and labor dispute. On August 21, the United States and Mexico announced the publication of the second panel decision under the USMCA/T-MEC/CUSMA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM).
The USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism: What Do Workers Expect?
I want to thank Kathleen Claussen for succinctly summarizing last week’s Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel. Many of us missed the panel discussion while participating in the fantastic ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group Biennial Conference (my kudos to the organizers).
Professor Claussen points out the Mexican government’
Second USMCA Rapid Response Labor Panel Hears Arguments in Mexico
On May 15 and 16, the second panel convened under the USMCA/TMEC/CUSMA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) held a hearing in Mexico to review the arguments of Mexico and the United States concerning worker rights at Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. (MEX-USA-2024-
Whither the Worker-Centered Trade Policy?
The Biden administration changed U.S. trade policy significantly when it adopted a “worker-centered” trade policy that justified entering into “frameworks” and not trade agreements. That policy didn’t win many accolades from the trade crowd. Many critics felt that it forewent critical opportunities by refusing to discuss market