Any new U.S. tariffs imposed on European Union goods in addition to the rates agreed last year would be unacceptable, a senior EU lawmaker said on Wednesday, pushing back against U.S. assertions that the EU is not doing enough to prevent trade in goods produced with forced labour.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office on Tuesday put forward proposals to add duties of 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, including the European Union, after investigations reportedly found shortcomings in efforts to curb trade in goods made with forced labour.
Bernd Lange, who leads the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, described the investigation and its conclusions as "utterly absurd," and said the move was predictable but unjustified. He said the United States appears to be seeking a new legal footing for its tariff measures following a setback at the Supreme Court.
"Following the setback at the Supreme Court, the US government is desperately seeking a new legal basis for its tariff policy," Lange said. "It appears that every conceivable pretext is now being used to justify existing tariffs or prepare new ones." He added that the impression is growing that tariff actions are decided first and then a legal rationale is tailored to fit: "The approach here is: if it doesn’t fit, make it fit."
Lange pointed to legislative steps taken by the European Union, noting that at the end of 2024 the bloc adopted what he described as the world’s strictest rules against products made using forced labour. He said companies are already adjusting to the new requirements, working to increase supply chain transparency, pinpoint risks and show that countermeasures are in place.
The European Commission, he noted, is preparing the final implementation guidelines that authorities and businesses will use to enforce the new rules.
"The claim that the EU is not taking sufficient action against forced labour does not stand up to serious scrutiny," Lange said. "Anyone who examines the facts knows that the European Union is setting global standards in this area."
Lange highlighted a central legal and political threshold in the dispute - whether a proposed additional tariff of ten per cent would breach the terms of the Turnberry agreements. He referred to that July 2025 accord in which the EU agreed to lift tariffs on U.S. goods and the United States agreed to a maximum tariff on most EU goods of 15%.
"The key question will therefore be whether the proposed additional tariff of ten per cent will exceed the Turnberry agreements," he said. "For us, it is clear: anything above that is unacceptable."
This dispute raises questions about legal justifications for trade measures and how outstanding disagreements will be resolved within the framework of previously negotiated tariff limits and new regulatory standards on forced labour.