The United States has announced new tariffs on imports from 60 economies, including Nigeria, over what it described as their failure to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The measures, announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Thursday, impose tariffs of either 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent, depending on each country’s forced labour import policies.
According to the USTR, the decision followed investigations launched in May 2026 under Section 301 of the Trade Act into 60 of the United States’ largest trading partners.
The agency said it received more than 1,600 public submissions, held hearings involving over 100 witnesses, and consulted more than 45 governments before announcing the tariffs.
Nigeria is among the countries that will face a 12.5 per cent tariff, while some that USTR deems have adopted or committed to implement bans on imports linked to forced labour will attract a lower 10 per cent rate.
Below is the full list of countries and territories affected by the new US tariffs:
| Country/Territory | Tariff (%) |
|---|---|
| Algeria | 12.5 |
| Angola | 12.5 |
| Argentina | 10 |
| Australia | 12.5 |
| Bahrain | 12.5 |
| Bangladesh | 10 |
| Brazil | 12.5 |
| Cambodia | 10 |
| Canada | 10 |
| Chile | 12.5 |
| China | 12.5 |
| Colombia | 12.5 |
| Costa Rica | 12.5 |
| Dominican Republic | 12.5 |
| Ecuador | 10 |
| Egypt | 12.5 |
| El Salvador | 10 |
| European Union* | 10 |
| Guatemala | 10 |
| Guyana | 12.5 |
| Honduras | 10 |
| Hong Kong | 12.5 |
| India | 10 |
| Indonesia | 10 |
| Iraq | 12.5 |
| Israel | 12.5 |
| Japan* | 12.5 |
| Jordan | 10 |
| Kazakhstan | 12.5 |
| Kuwait | 12.5 |
| Libya | 12.5 |
| Malaysia | 10 |
| Mexico | 10 |
| Morocco | 12.5 |
| New Zealand | 12.5 |
| Nicaragua | 12.5 |
| Nigeria | 12.5 |
| Norway | 12.5 |
| Oman | 12.5 |
| Pakistan | 10 |
| Peru | 12.5 |
| Philippines | 12.5 |
| Qatar | 12.5 |
| Russia | 12.5 |
| Saudi Arabia | 12.5 |
| Singapore | 12.5 |
| South Africa | 12.5 |
| South Korea* | 12.5 |
| Sri Lanka | 10 |
| Switzerland* | 12.5 |
| Taiwan* | 10 |
| Thailand | 12.5 |
| The Bahamas | 12.5 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 10 |
| Turkey | 12.5 |
| United Arab Emirates | 12.5 |
| United Kingdom | 10 |
| Uruguay | 12.5 |
| Venezuela | 12.5 |
| Vietnam | 12.5 |
For the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan, the tariffs are applied net of the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rate, according to the USTR.
PUNCH Online reports that some products are exempted from the tariffs.
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