特朗普政府以强迫劳动为由重新实施全球关税措施。尽管这些关税面临法律挑战，但相关舆论热度并未消退。今年2月，美国最高法院裁定特朗普政府依据紧急经济权力实施的全球关税措施无效，此后政府便转而以“贸易伙伴未能有效打击强迫劳动”为由，试图部分恢复相关关税。
The Trump administration resurrected its global tariffs by shining a light on forced labor. The tariffs face a court challenge, but the spotlight isn’t going away. After the U.S. Supreme Court in February shot down President Trump’s global tariffs—which relied on emergency economic powers—the administration turned to a new theory to partially revive them, accusing America’s trade partners of failing to take action against forced labor.
包括二十多个州的民主党籍司法部长及州长在内的批评者上周向纽约的一家联邦法院提起诉讼，要求废除这些新关税。他们指出，特朗普政府不过是以强迫劳动为借口罢了。白宫方面未对有关该诉讼的置评请求作出回应。
Critics of the novel theory, including Democratic attorneys general and governors in more than two dozen states, last week asked a New York-based federal court to invalidate the new tariffs. The Trump administration turned to forced labor as a pretext, they argued. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
无论政府此举的真实动机为何，自美国推出针对强迫劳动的关税政策后，众多贸易伙伴纷纷着手完善本国相关法律体系。无论美国国际贸易法院最终作出何种裁决，全球对供应链的严格监管趋势都将持续下去。
“这是个重大问题，”曾任丰田墨西哥公司总裁、现任墨西哥城咨询机构Odysseus Business Intelligence首席执行官的路易斯·洛萨诺说道，“如今受到关注的目光更多了。作为一家跨国企业，有些词汇绝对不能与品牌联系在一起，其中就包括‘强迫劳动’。”
Regardless of the administration’s motivations, after the U.S. unveiled its forced-labor tariffs, a number of U.S. trading partners began to beef up their own legal regimes. Increased global scrutiny on supply chains is likely to continue no matter what the U.S. Court of International Trade decides.“It’s a big issue,” said Luis Lozano, the former president of Toyota’s Mexico unit and who now serves as chief executive of Mexico City-based advisory Odysseus Business Intelligence.“There’s more eyes,” Lozano said. “And there’s certain words as a global company you don’t want combined with your brand. One is ‘forced labor.’”
法律依据明确特朗普政府此次实施新轮关税所依据的是1974年《贸易法》第301条。该条款授权总统对存在不公平贸易行为的国家采取应对措施。历届政府均多次援引此条款处理各类贸易纠纷，涉及啤酒、绿色技术等多个行业。
Firm lineSection 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, under which the Trump administration has imposed its new round of tariffs, lets the president take action against countries it finds have engaged in unfair trade practices. Various administrations have regularly used it over trade disputes in a number of sectors, from beer to green technology.
今年7月，特朗普政府进一步强化这一法律手段，以“未能有效整治强迫劳动”为由对60个经济体实施制裁，致使这些国家的企业处于不公平的竞争环境之中。
The Trump administration supercharged the use of this legal power by taking action in July against 60 economies that it said had failed to adequately address forced labor, putting competing U.S. workers on an unfair footing.
数十年来，美国在禁止强迫劳动方面始终采取比其他国家更为严格的立场。早在1930年，美国便率先禁止与强迫劳动相关的商品进口。2022年，一项专门针对中国的严厉措施正式生效——《维吾尔强迫劳动预防法》实际上禁止了任何可能与新疆地区存在关联的商品的进口，理由是当地存在人权问题。中国政府则坚决否认有关新疆存在强迫劳动及其他侵犯人权行为的指控。
The U.S. has for decades taken a much firmer line on forced labor than its peer countries, first banning imports tied to the practice in 1930. In 2022, a tough measure specifically targeting China came into force. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act effectively bans the import of any goods that can be tied to Xinjiang over human-rights concerns. Beijing has denied allegations of forced labor and other abuses in the region.
该法律迫使众多企业着手审查自身的供应链。例如，2024年大众汽车发现一批运往美国的车辆所用零部件源自新疆，于是这批货物被扣留。大众当时表示，公司始终认真排查供应链中可能存在的人权问题。
That law forced many businesses to investigate their supply chains. Automaker Volkswagen, for example, in 2024 had a shipment of vehicles kept out of the U.S. after finding a single part traced to Xinjiang. VW said at the time it diligently investigates possible human-rights issues in its supply chains.
截至8月，根据《维吾尔强迫劳动预防法》，美国已对约4.4万批货物展开调查，其中近2.7万批被禁止入境，这些被拒货物大多为电子产品。成效参差不齐在禁止强迫劳动方面，许多美国盟友的表现则参差不齐。美国首部相关法律颁布近一个世纪后，欧盟计划于2027年12月起正式实施进口商品禁止强迫劳动的规定。
As of August, the U.S. had under the UFLPA investigated about 44,000 shipments and denied entry to nearly 27,000 of those, most of them electronics. Mixed recordsMany U.S. allies have had more mixed records on forced labor. The European Union is planning to enforce its forced-labor import ban by December 2027, nearly a century after the first U.S. law was passed.
作为特朗普第一任期内签署的自由贸易协定的一部分，加拿大也承诺禁止进口使用强迫劳动生产的商品。然而据加拿大边境服务局提供的数据，截至10月2日，加拿大仅因强迫劳动问题扣留了53批货物以供检查，最终仅有两批货物被禁止入境——一批为纺织品，另一批为海产品。
Canada agreed to bar imports of goods made with forced labor as part of a free-trade agreement from Trump’s first term. But as of Oct. 2, Canada had held up just 53 shipments for inspection over forced-labor concerns and blocked two, one of textiles and another of seafood, according to figures provided by the Canada Border Services Agency.
在美国大力推行禁止强迫劳动政策的背景下，加拿大也是迅速加强相关执法力度的国家之一。今年6月，就在美国贸易代表办公室发布初步报告批评加拿大及其他国家在禁止强迫劳动方面的表现后约一周，马克·卡尼总理领导的政府便提议出台更为严格的禁止强迫劳动法律。
Canada is one of the countries that have scrambled to bulk up their forced-labor enforcement amid the U.S. push. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government proposed a tougher forced-labor law in June, about a week after the USTR filed a preliminary report that criticized the forced-labor records of Canada and other U.S. trading partners.“Regardless of whether one is for or against the tariffs, everyone has to admit that the 301 investigations have ignited conversations about forced labor in supply chains all over the world,” said Laura Murphy, a forced-labor researcher who advised the Biden administration.“In some places where advocates have been arguing for new action for a decade, we are seeing sudden movement,” Murphy said.
贸易伙伴。“无论人们是否支持这些关税措施，所有人都必须承认：301条款调查确实引发了全球范围内关于供应链中强迫劳动问题的广泛讨论，”曾为拜登政府提供咨询的强迫劳动问题研究员劳拉·墨菲说道。“在一些倡导者十年来一直呼吁采取新举措的地区，如今我们看到了迅速的行动，”墨菲补充道。
Shot in the armThe administration’s focus on forced labor is a welcome one, said Samir Goswami, director of forced-labor programs at Hague-based Global Rights Compliance, which works with governments and international institutions to promote international law.“We just needed to see enforcement through any instrument,” Goswami said.
这一举措可谓雪中送炭。总部位于海牙、致力于协助各国政府及国际机构推行国际法的“全球权利合规组织”的强迫劳动项目主管萨米尔·戈斯瓦米表示，美国政府将重点放在打击强迫劳动问题上值得肯定。“我们一直期待能通过某种手段来切实执行相关法规，”戈斯瓦米说道。
Colombia, for example, in late September banned the import of goods with any forced-labor touchpoint. India did the same in July.
例如，哥伦比亚于9月下旬禁止进口任何涉及强迫劳动的产品；印度也在同年7月实施了类似禁令。美国贸易代表办公室9月份宣布，已组织50个国家共同开展有关实施与执行强迫劳动禁令的培训。上周，在二十国集团会议期间，墨西哥与阿根廷也承诺将致力于消除全球供应链中的强迫劳动现象。
The USTR in September said it had brought 50 countries together for training on imposing and enforcing forced-labor bans. Mexico and Argentina committed on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting last week to work to eliminate forced labor from global supply chains.
米勒与谢瓦利埃律师事务所负责海关及进口贸易业务的理查德·莫希卡指出，无论美国法院最终作出何种裁决，世界各国都不太可能撤销这些新出台的与强迫劳动相关的政策。“那些已经实施相关法规的国家绝不会轻易废除它们，”这位为多家跨国企业提供法律咨询的专家说道。
Countries around the world are unlikely to reverse their new forced-labor-related policy moves regardless of what the U.S. court decides, said Richard Mojica, head of the customs-and-import-trade practice at the law firm Miller & Chevalier.“Countries that have gone through this are unlikely to wind down any of these laws,” said Mojica, who advises large international businesses.
他还提到，面对日益增多的关税措施与制裁规定，各企业正愈发深入地审视自身的供应链体系。“如今，明确供应链各环节参与方的身份变得至关重要，”莫希卡解释道，“若对此一无所知，企业可能面临法律风险。”
Companies are also diving much deeper into supply chains as they wrestle with tariffs and an increase in sanctions around the world, he said.“You have a situation where it becomes important to know the identity of these supply-chain players,” Mojica said.
可发送邮件至Richard.Vanderford@wsj.com联系理查德·范德福德。
“Not knowing them creates potential liability.”Write to Richard Vanderford at Richard. Vanderford@wsj.com