The US has proposed a 12.5% tariff on goods imported from South Africa and 59 other countries, accusing foreign producers of prejudicing American businesses by not banning goods made through forced-labour practices. The proposed tariff on South Africa is subject to public hearings scheduled for July 7 before a final decision is made. The proposal is in line with section 301(b) of the Trade Act in the US, which prohibits the importation of goods produced with forced labour. Other countries targeted by the US’s proposed tariffs include the UK, EU, Canada, India and Japan, which are among its largest trading partners.Trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau has asked Washington to provide evidence that South Africa is importing goods produced with forced labour, including the nature of those goods and the countries they come from. He said the information is necessary for South Africa to mount an effective response to the probe. Tau insisted South Africa is not being singled out, because the Trump administration’s trade policy measures are targeted equally to all countries. The proposed tariffs would be the first new duties imposed by the Trump administration since February, when the Supreme Court struck down the so-called Liberation Day tariffs the president imposed on dozens of countries in April 2025.“Some comments suggest that South Africa’s existing labour laws, anti-trafficking laws and customs laws provide a legal framework for South Africa to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labour,” the US Trade Representative (USTR), headed by Jamieson Greer, said in a report released on Wednesday.“A legal framework that could provide a basis for a forced-labour import prohibition, however, is distinct from a measure that forbids legally the importation of goods produced with forced labour,” it said. “For the foregoing reasons, the results of this investigation indicate that the acts, policies and practices of South Africa related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labour import prohibition are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce.”The US trade department said it would impose 10% tariffs on imports from Canada, the EU, Britain, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan.Countries that have committed to enforcing a forced-labour import ban through a reciprocal trade agreement would face a lower rate of 10%, according to the USTR. All others would be subject to the full 12.5% additional duty.The USTR said the failure of the listed economies to enforce forced-labour import prohibitions harms US commerce by exposing American producers to unfair competition, both in export markets and domestically, while displacing goods produced without forced labour.“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable,” said USTR ambassador Jamieson Greer. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field.”