The United States has proposed additional tariffs of 12.5% on imports from eight African countries, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, after finding that these economies failed to impose or enforce bans on goods produced with forced labour, adding new pressure to a continent already struggling to find its footing in a volatile global trade environment.
The proposal, unveiled on June 2, 2026 by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), is the result of 60 simultaneous Section 301 investigations that Washington launched in March this year to assess whether trading partners have the legal framework to prevent forced-labor goods from entering their markets.
according to USTR's findingsPublished in full on ustr.gov, 54 of the 60 economies examined had neither imposed nor effectively implemented such a ban, while six others – Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan – had laws on the books but failed to enforce them. All 60 will now face proposed action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Eight African countries fall squarely into the first category. They would face additional tariffs of 12.5% on most goods entering the US market, compared with a lower rate of 10% proposed for economies that have at least partially adopted forced labor prohibitions or have committed to do so under trade agreements with Washington.
US Trade Representative Jameson Greer said in a statement that failure to act by trading partners is no longer something Washington will tolerate. “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the import of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable,” Greer said. CNBC Africa. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field. We will no longer tolerate this inequity.”
What makes this proposal different from Washington's previous tariff waves is its intent. The baseline 10% levy that President Donald Trump previously introduced under his reciprocal trade framework was intended to correct trade imbalances and what his administration described as unfair market-access conditions. The new forced-labor charges are more specific. They target governance – whether a government has created a regulatory infrastructure to trace goods made through duress and prevent them from moving into international supply chains. This change in framing matters, because it means the path to relief is not a trade agreement or deficit reduction but legal and enforcement reforms.
The proposal is under review and has not gone into effect. A public hearing is scheduled before July 7, 2026, giving affected governments and industries the opportunity to submit comments. However, the direction that USTR has set is indicated. For African exporters, the 12.5% tariffs on top of existing duties will raise the cost of doing business with one of the world's largest consumer markets at a time when many are already facing fallout from Trump's first reciprocal tariff round.
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is now facing this latest pressure as it grapples with a sweeping restructuring of its trade relationship with Washington. South Africa, a historically important US trading partner and member of the African Growth and Opportunity Act framework, finds itself in a similar situation. There are exemptions in the proposal – energy products, some metals, pharmaceuticals, coffee and some agricultural goods are excluded – but for many exporters the scope of the proposed tariffs is broad enough to have real consequences.
For African governments, USTR's actions create a choice that is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid: build legislative and enforcement mechanisms to keep forced-labor goods out of supply chains, or accept a more costly route to the U.S. market. The investigation covered 60 economies and included consultations with 46 governments, meaning the process was neither sudden nor uninformed. Eight African countries named in the proposal had the opportunity to join.
