Singapore could face 12.5% US tariff after forced labour trade probe

[SINGAPORE] Singapore could face a new 12.5 per cent tariff on exports to the US, after an American trade agency found that the Republic had not adopted and effectively enforced a ban on goods produced with forced labour.

The proposed levy will not be immediately effective as it is subject to comments and hearings starting in July.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), an agency within the executive office of US President Donald Trump, said its investigations against 60 economies – initiated on Mar 12 – found that six of them have failed to effectively enforce a ban on the import of goods produced with forced labour.

The other 54 economies, including Singapore, have failed to both impose and effectively enforce the prohibition, it found.

“Therefore, all of the investigated economies have failed both to impose a forced labour import prohibition and to effectively enforce such a prohibition,” the USTR said.

Singapore has already rejected the USTR’s claims. In April, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said that there was no evidence of Singapore’s role in supply chains of goods associated with forced labour to the US, and the Republic is not aware of any goods produced with forced labour that have been exported to the US from Singapore.

The investigation is part of a series of probes initiated to impose new and harsher tariffs after the US Supreme Court in February struck down the legal basis of Trump’s signature reciprocal tariffs, imposed in 2025.

Immediately after the court’s decision, Trump imposed a 10 per cent global levy under Section 122, which is set to expire in July.

Singapore also faces separate USTR investigations into acts, policies and practices relating to structural excess capacity and production in certain manufacturing sectors.

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The USTR said that trade in forced labour burdens or restricts US commerce, and is thus actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act.

The agency has proposed to the US president to use the trade law and impose 10 per cent additional duties on goods entering the US for the six economies that are partially compliant.

For all other economies, including Singapore, it has proposed a 12.5 per cent additional tariff.

In a report issued with the press release on Tuesday (Jun 2), the USTR said: “For the foregoing reasons, the results of this investigation indicate that the acts, policies and practices of Singapore related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a forced labour import prohibition are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce.”

The agency said that persons interested in appearing at the hearings, which start on Jul 7, should submit requests to appear, along with a summary of testimony to be submitted, by Jun 22.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who heads the USTR, said: “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field.”

He added that the US will no longer tolerate this disparity.

The Straits Times has contacted MTI for comment. THE STRAITS TIMES