Newly announced 10% US tariffs on the EU over alleged failures to tackle trade in products made with forced labour are “unjustified”, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said on Tuesday that, following the findings of an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act, 60 trading partners – including the EU – could face new tariffs.

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable.” said USTR Jamieson Greer.

In a statement, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the EU “fully shares” US concerns about forced labour and has taken steps to eliminate it from global supply chains.

Gill noted that the EU approved a forced labour regulation in 2024, which bans the sale of products made using such practices and will enter into force in 2027.

“This represents one of the most ambitious instruments of its kind globally. It establishes a prohibition to place on the EU market all forced labour products, irrespective of whether they originate in the EU or in a third country,” the spokesperson said. “The EU considers tariffs imposed on these grounds to be unjustified,” he added.

Accusing the EU of not doing enough to combat forced labour is “absurd”, said German MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on international trade. “Washington is desperately searching for new legal grounds to sustain its tariff policy,” he added.

The move by Washington comes just weeks before the current blanket 10% tariff applied to most EU products expires. It was introduced to replace a 15% tariff struck down by the Supreme Court in February, but it was only valid for 150 days.

Under an agreement between the EU and the US reached in Turnberry, Scotland, last year, the EU faces blanket tariffs of 15% on all goods, while tariffs on Washington’s agricultural and industrial exports are reduced.

The European Parliament is expected to give final approval to the implementation of the deal on 16 June, following a first vote on Tuesday.

“As we have said in the past, a deal is a deal … We expect the US to fully respect the terms of the Joint Statement, and the Commission will continue to ensure that the interests of the European Union are fully protected,” Gill said.

Washington has also announced changes to tariffs on steel and aluminium products, lowering them from 25% to 15%. The measures cover mainly agricultural machinery, as well as some heating and air-conditioning systems.

MEPs have long insisted that tariffs on steel derivatives be kept at the agreed 15% level as part of the Turnberry deal, and the Commission has been empowered to suspend the agreement if the US continues to impose higher tariffs. The lower tariff rate will apply from 8 June until the end of 2027.

The director of the European Steel Association, Axel Eggert, said the Turnberry deal is “worth nothing for European steel producers” until the US delivers on a solution for tariffs on steel and steel derivatives.

(adm, ow)