The Chinese government has argued that the new tariffs imposed by the United States on the grounds of “forced labor” are inconsistent with the principles of international trade and has called for their removal.
China has criticized the additional tariffs announced by the United States on 60 trading partners over allegations of forced labor. Beijing described the measure as a unilateral action and urged Washington to withdraw the tariffs.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce characterized the U.S. tariffs imposed under the pretext of “forced labor” as “a typical act of unilateralism” and stated that China firmly opposes the move.
The spokesperson also stressed that the United States should correct what China described as its erroneous practices and completely remove the unilateral tariffs.
Earlier, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, following investigations conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, additional tariffs of 10 percent and 12.5 percent would be imposed on 60 trading partners. The USTR stated that these measures were based on findings that import bans on products believed to have been manufactured using forced labor had either not been enforced or had been insufficiently monitored.
The USTR also announced that countries including China would be subject to an additional tariff rate of 12.5 percent.