Bangladesh is among 60 countries now facing a new prohibitive US tariff of up to 12.5 per cent proposed to be levied on goods produced with forced labour, in lockstep with impugned reciprocal tariffs.
The United States has proposed imposing the additional duties on allegations of failure to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on goods produced using forced labour.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in a statement issued Wednesday said, "The U.S. Trade Representative proposes additional duties on all products of the investigated economies, except as provided in Annex A to the Federal Register notice."
It further states that economies that impose a forced-labour-import prohibition, that have committed to imposing and enforcing such a prohibition through an 'Agreement on Reciprocal Trade', or those imposed a partial regime would face a lower additional tariff of 10 per cent.
For all other economies, including those under full investigation, the proposed rate is 12.5 per cent.
The USTR proposal also includes a textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from certain economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff rate.
Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 allows the US government to respond to what it considers "unjustifiable, unreasonable or discriminatory foreign government acts, policies, or practices that burden or restrict US commerce".
Under this provision, the USTR can initiate investigations and impose trade measures following determinations of harm.
Earlier on March 12, 2026, the USTR initiated 60 investigations related to the failure of various economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The USTR seeks written comments by July 06 with public hearings scheduled to take place on July 07, according to the statement.
"The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field," says Ambassador Jamieson Greer, an American trade attorney.
"We will no longer tolerate this disparity," Greer says, adding that each of the trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labour globally.
The proposal comes after US Supreme Court struck down the high-rated reciprocal tariffs slapped by President Donald Trump in what went for 'trade war'.
The USTR has identified 54 economies, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Thailand, as failing to impose and effectively enforce bans on the goods produced with forced labour.
The rest six economies, including Canada, the EU, Mexico and Pakistan, failed to effectively enforce existing prohibitions.
Asked about the latest trade tariff, Dr M A Razzaque, Chairman, Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), said, "It is a matter of concern that the USTR proposal reflects a growing tendency to use tariff threats to advance regulatory norms that have not been established through multilateral agreement."
He adds that while combating forced labour is a legitimate and widely shared objective, making market access conditional on a specific US-preferred regulatory model risks weakening the MFN-based trading system and further fragmenting global trade governance.
Bangladesh should support the objective but challenge the conceptual basis of the USTR framework, he told The Financial Express, adding that there is an important distinction between prohibiting forced labour itself, which is widely recognised under ILO conventions and domestic legal systems, and imposing a dedicated broader measure that bans imports allegedly linked to forced labour.
"Bangladesh can argue that the latter represents one regulatory instrument among several and that its absence should not automatically be regarded as an unreasonable trade practice."
He also observes the fact that the USTR investigation covers economies such as the European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand suggests that the issue concerns a contested regulatory approach rather than a settled international norm.
The development-policy expert suggests that Bangladesh should pursue a dual-track diplomatic strategy -- work with other affected economies, including developing and advanced countries, to argue for proportionality, recognition of alternative regulatory approaches through international consensus, adequate transition periods.
On the other hand, Bangladesh should maintain close bilateral engagement with Washington and present a credible domestic reform roadmap that could include legal review, customs-enforcement improvements, supply-chain due-diligence measures, labour-inspection strengthening, and institutional coordination.
"Bangladesh needs to project itself as reform-oriented and cooperative while avoiding unnecessary concessions or confrontation," he commented.
Responding to an FE query, Mohammad Hatem, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), says the allegation of having forced labour is not 'acceptable'.
The trade bodies -- BGMEA and BKMEA -- and the government will take stern action if USTR provides any specific case of forced labour in the garment sector, the industry leader vows.
The BKMEA chief says the government should "strongly" address the allegation.
He, however, says if the rate remains same for all garment-producing countries, like Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it would not much affect the local garment exports to the United States.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com