Trump accused of using forced labor as ‘convenient’ justification for tariffs

US president faced criticism from Democrats after tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% imposed on more than 80 countries

Donald Trump has been accused of using forced labor as “a pretext” to impose a fresh wave of tariffs on dozens of countries, as critics warned of higher prices for Americans.

The US president faced swift criticism from Democrats after his officials presented their latest effort to make his signature economic policy permanent following a string of high-profile legal setbacks. Some Republicans also expressed concern.

Hours before a temporary US duty of 10% on many countries was due to expire on Friday, the Trump administration announced new tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on more than 80 countries, including the UK, Mexico, Canada, Australia, India, China and European Union members.

The new tariffs are being implemented under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to bypass Congress to instate tariffs designed to punish countries using forced labor to export goods to the US.

Trump “recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains”, said Jamieson Greer, his US trade representative, on Thursday, adding it was “well past time” that countries across the world eradicated the practice.

But as the US president continues to face questions over his controversial focus on tariffs, and the threat of higher prices, leading Democrats accused his administration of using forced labor to prop up their strategy.

“Today’s forced labor justification is too convenient to be taken seriously,” said Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the US House ways and means committee. “Forced labor is a real and pervasive problem in our supply chains and demands serious enforcement. It should never be cheapened into a pretext for a tariff policy built on dubious legal theories and personal grievances.’’

Linda Sánchez, a California Democrat who also serves on the tax-writing committee, noted that Trump had gutted funding to combat forced labor at the Bureau of International Labor Affairs and rolled back worker protections domestically “while encouraging companies to profit off some of the world’s worst forced labor abusers through his proposed US-China Board of Trade”.

“If he was serious, he would not be applying the same tariff rate to China, one of the worst forced labor abusers in the world, as he does to countries like Australia,” wrote Sánchez. “Then again, unlike China, Australia, doesn’t manufacture any Trump corporation products.”

Trump’s trade strategy suffered a damaging blow in February when the US supreme court ruled 6-3 that many of his tariffs had been imposed illegally. His officials immediately announced another 10% tariff regime under another trade law that had never been used before, although these duties could only be imposed for up to 150 days – and expired after midnight EST on Friday.

This latest wave of tariffs is designed to replace the 10% regime. Democrats said the levies would accomplish little besides increasing costs for Americans amid inflation that has climbed to a three-year high – a message they have pushed again and again in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, in which they seek to regain control of Congress.

“Trump has bled the inflation-battered American people dry with his tariffs. Now he’s coming back for more,” the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said. He urged Republicans “to finally grow a backbone – work with Democrats to reject this tax and bring down costs for the American people”.

Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House budget committee, cited an estimate by the Congressional Joint Economic Committee that US families have had to pay $3,500 more under Trump’s policies, adding that new tariffs would only cost them more.

“Federal courts have repeatedly struck down President Trump’s illegal and costly tariff taxes,” he said. “These new tariffs are more of the same: a nationwide sales tax that will make life even harder for families already struggling under the costs of Trump’s reckless war in Iran.”

A Harris Poll survey for the Guardian found earlier this year that 70% of Americans have reported paying more due to tariffs, and a majority of voters, including 60% of Republicans, say tariffs have had a negative effect on consumers.

All signs pointed to the latest tariffs being as divisive among Republicans as previous rounds, as they drew mixed responses from Trump’s allies in Congress.

“True to its word, the Trump administration is fighting for American families, farmers and small businesses – as well as American values – when it comes to our trading relationships,” said the House ways and means committee chair, Jason Smith.

“Holding accountable those countries that are not doing nearly enough to rid their supply chains of goods produced with forced labor is appropriate to address unfair trading practices that put American workers at a competitive disadvantage.”

But John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas, raised concern about the effect of the tariffs on Americans. Cornyn is leaving the US Senate at this end of this term, after his Trump-endorsed rival, Ken Paxton, won the Republican nomination for his seat.

“There’s no question that tariffs on imports raise prices on American products,” Cornyn told the Hill. “So yeah, I’m concerned about that.”