AN expert has said that Donald Trump’s latest tariffs are “taking advantage of UK hypocrisy” on forced labour.
The US president has announced plans that will see America hit 60 countries including the UK with trade tariffs of between 10% and 12.5%, saying they are not taking action to tackle the importing of goods made with forced labour.
They are being introduced to replace temporary 10% levies as they came to an end on Friday, having been declared illegal by the US supreme court in February.
While whisky will not be impacted and this remains at the same level as the tariff deal struck by Keir Starmer and Peter Mandelson with the US last year, the EU’s previous 15% near blanket tariff is reduced to 10% – which is expected to put UK businesses at a disadvantage against the EU.
Reacting to this new development, Fernando Morales-de la Cruz – a prominent Guatemalan human rights activist and journalist – said that Trump is taking advantage of UK “hypocrisy” on forced labour in the country’s supply chains.
He quickly added: “Trump, himself, being hypocrite number one.”
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is the current main legislation regarding the issue in the UK, which mandates that large commercial firms publish an annual statement outlining the actions they have taken to prevent human trafficking and modern slavery in their supply chains.
The Procurement Act 2023 also excludes some forced labour products from government procurement.
Whilst well intentioned, campaigners – including Morales-de la Cruz – say it totally lacks the required safeguards to actually prevent forced labour in UK supply chains, with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) also coming to the same conclusion in a report published just before the tariff announcement was announced.
“Trump has taken advantage of the hypocrisy of all of the countries. Of course, in the case of the UK you have the Modern Slavery Act. The European Union claims to have a ban on forced labour which is of course not effective. Canada also has its own copy of the Modern Slavery Act,” he said.
“And I can continue with all the rest of the trading partners but the bottom line is that Trump has played the Trump card.”
While the US has its own issues when it comes to forced labour, Morales-de la Cruz said that the tariffs bring up an uncomfortable issue for the UK Government and should inspire real action.
“Whether one supports or opposes Donald Trump is irrelevant here. What matters is the underlying shift: forced labour enforcement has moved from moral persuasion into the arena of trade consequences,” he said in a further LinkedIn blog.
“And that changes everything. For years, governments have relied on a familiar script. The United Kingdom points to the Modern Slavery Act as proof of leadership.”
Morales-de la Cruz added: “[But] it relies heavily on corporate transparency and reporting obligations. Yet reporting alone does not stop imports produced through coercion.”
Earlier this month, trade minister Chris Bryant also said that he would be “absolutely amazed and demoralised” if the UK failed to implement some form of forced labour ban in UK supply chains within the next three years.
Reacting to the tariffs, a UK Government spokesperson said: “There is no change to the tariff rate facing UK businesses as a result of this announcement.
“The UK remains on a 10% tariff rate and the preferential access secured under our agreement with the United States remains in place.
“We take forced labour very seriously and ensure that in global supply chains UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations.
“The US has recognised the steps the UK is taking, which is why there are no additional tariffs for the UK under this announcement.”
