The United States (US) has proposed additional tariffs from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent targeting 60 economies.
The reason behind this new tariffs is the failures to act against forced labor, as the Trump administration seeks to rebuild its tariff agenda following legal setbacks.
Bangladesh is among the 60 countries.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the acts, policies, and practices of 60 economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and are thus actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act.
It said that 54 of the economies "failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition."
This group includes China, Vietnam, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Six other economies -- Canada, Ecuador, the EU, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan -- were deemed not to have effectively enforced such prohibitions.
"The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable," USTR Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
"This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field," he added.
But the proposed tariffs come with various exemptions such as beef, coffee and certain fruits and nuts.
Goods from Canada and Mexico that comply with a North American free trade pact will also be exempt -- as will certain textiles and apparel.
The public is invited to provide written comments by July 6, and the USTR will subsequently hold hearings.
