Analysis: US cites forced labor to shield new taxation

The United States has proposed additional tariffs on imports from 60 economies, citing failures to control trade in goods made with forced labor. The measure, however, goes beyond a humanitarian concern and involves a deliberate legal strategy on the part of the American government.

According to CNN's senior International analyst, Américo Martins, the US used the argument of combating forced labor to justify the new tariffs imposed.

According to Martins, there is an additional motivation behind the use of these arguments: "That these new tariff measures are not overturned by the American Supreme Court, as happened with the initial tariffs", highlighted the analyst to Backstage CNN this Wednesday (3).

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The analyst recalled that a significant part of the tariffs imposed throughout 2025 were invalidated by the US Supreme Court itself, which did not recognize the exceptional economic powers invoked to justify them.

"The first wave of US tariffs was very poorly founded and, therefore, ended up suffering problems in the Supreme Court", said Martins.

In this context, the Department of Commerce and the USTR (US Trade Representative) would, according to the analyst, be building more solid allegations to make it more difficult for companies to overturn the new tariffs in American justice.

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"That's why they're placing so much emphasis on points that, at the end of the day, are not directly associated with the defenses that President Donald Trump usually makes," noted the analyst.

Martins drew attention to the fact that the USTR's decision to tax Brazilian imports also mentioned deforestation.

"President Donald Trump does not defend the environment, he rarely talks about workers' rights, the one who has links with US unions is the Democratic Party, opposition to his government", he stated.

Martins highlighted that there is, therefore, a mixture of interests: the legitimate defense of labor rights, the attempt to reduce the impact on American courts and the use of the argument as a pretext to target commercial and political adversaries of the United States.

Reactions from China and Europe
In a press conference, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared that forced labor does not exist in the country. Mao Ning also stated that Beijing opposes the use of this argument as, in his words, "an excuse for political manipulation."

China also reinforced that economic differences must be resolved through dialogue and cooperation, and not through threats. Ning warns that an escalation in tensions does not benefit any of the parties involved.

The European Commission also expressed its opinion on the issue, classifying the arguments presented by the United States as unjustifiable. The bloc reiterated its commitment to the trade agreement signed with Washington last year.

Américo Martins highlighted that countries such as those in the European Union have very strong legislation against forced labor and are, according to him, "at the forefront" of defending these rights.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN