People Mentioned
Partner, Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment, Toronto
The prospect of Canada facing new U.S. tariffs in relation to forced labour rules is a pretext for continuing the tariff wall, says Jesse Goldman, partner, Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment, in an interview with Global News.
While the stated reason for the tariffs is U.S. concerns over forced labour practices, some experts say it is a backdoor way to maintain President Trump’s tariff wall against foreign-made goods. “I don’t think we should be under any illusion that even if we perfected that legislation and perfected enforcement, that it would change anything with respect to the U.S. approach,” says Jesse.
“It’s a strategic attempt and a pretext, frankly, to continue the tariff wall.”
In June, the Trump administration proposed that tariffs of 10% or more be imposed on products from dozens of major trading partners following a probe into imports of goods allegedly made with forced labour. The report by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Canada was among 60 U.S. trading partners that would face additional tariffs for allegedly failing to enforce a forced labour import ban.
On June 2, the USTR proposed that sanctions be imposed under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. “It’s a delegated power from Congress to the President, to effect trade-related measures, usually in the form of tariffs, against trade partners of the U.S.,” says Jesse. “I would expect that the 301 tariffs will be finalized, and the final measures will be announced this week so that will be a continuous tariff wall.”
Read the full article by Uday Rana posted on July 20, 2026.
People Mentioned
Partner, Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment, Toronto
