The United States adds a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods over forced labour
Since 24 July 2026, Chinese goods entering the United States have borne an additional 12.5% duty under Section 301, after the USTR found that China, like 59 other trading partners, was not effectively preventing the entry of goods made with forced labour. This duty is added on top of the other duties already in force on Chinese products.
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On 23 July 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published the final action from its Section 301 investigations into the practices of 60 trading partners regarding the import of goods produced with forced labour. The additional duties took effect at midnight Eastern Time on 24 July 2026, for goods entered for consumption from that date.
Two rates apply depending on each economy's classification: 10% for those judged to have made credible commitments to ban such imports, and 12.5% for those judged not to have adopted such a ban. China is among the economies subject to the higher rate, which is added to the Section 301 duties already in force on most Chinese tariff lines, which can reach 100% on certain categories arising from the 2024 four-year review.
Several trading partners closely tied to Chinese supply chains were placed in the same 12.5% group, including Colombia and the Dominican Republic, both of which had to legislate in the following days in an attempt to secure a review of their own rate.
For an importer buying in China, this duty is added to the existing stack of US duties, without replacing them: Section 301 list duties, any anti-dumping or countervailing duties, and now this forced-labour-related duty. Documentation tracing raw materials and labour becomes a direct tariff issue, not merely a matter of compliance or reputation.
What it changes for an importer
For a client importing from China into the United States, this duty is a reminder that traceability of the supply chain, factory, subcontractors, origin of raw materials, now weighs directly on the landed cost, in the same way as a tariff code. We document the real origin of production and materials before any commitment at the factory, so that our clients hold the necessary evidence should their supplier or product ever be called into question, without ever standing in for their US customs broker.
The certifications your country requires
In US dollars, on quotation, added to the same core service.
United States · FCC, CPSC, FDA United States compliance
On quotationIn US dollars
FCC authorisation for electronics, CPSC certificates of conformity for consumer and children’s products, FDA registrations for food and devices: we prepare the documents on the supplier side, you remain the importer of record.
- Identification of the federal rules that apply to your product
- Test reports obtained from the factory, from a recognised laboratory where required
- Draft certificate of conformity and labelling for your approval
- Supplier information ready for your importer filings
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