USTR schedules forced‑labor hearings
- The U.S. Trade Representative said it will hold April 28-29 hearings on Section 301 probes into 60 economies' forced-labor import enforcement. - The hearings start at 10 a.m. Eastern at the U.S. International Trade Commission, with a witness schedule spanning 12 panels. - The probes began March 12 and could lead to trade action under Section 301. (federalregister.gov)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will open two days of hearings on April 28 and 29 in a forced-labor trade case covering 60 economies. (ustr.gov) The hearings are part of Section 301 investigations into whether those economies failed to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports made with forced labor. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office announced the schedule on April 24. (ustr.gov) (federalregister.gov) USTR formally launched the investigations on March 12, 2026, and set April 15 as the deadline for written comments and requests to testify. The Section 301 Committee said post-hearing rebuttal comments are due seven days after the last hearing day. (federalregister.gov) (ustr.gov) The sessions begin at 10 a.m. Eastern in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade Commission at 500 E Street SW in Washington. USTR said the proceedings are on the record, but outside cameras and video recording will not be allowed, and there will be no livestream. (ustr.gov) A posted hearing schedule shows 12 panels over the two days, with witnesses from labor and human-rights groups, trade associations, manufacturers and at least two foreign government offices. Listed speakers include the Human Trafficking Legal Center, the Consumer Technology Association, the American Soybean Association and Mexico’s Economy Ministry. (ustr.gov) The legal backdrop is older than this case. The Federal Register notice says U.S. law has barred imports made wholly or partly with forced labor for almost 100 years. (federalregister.gov) What Section 301 adds is a trade remedy process aimed at foreign government acts, policies or practices. This case is testing whether failures to police forced-labor goods can be treated as an actionable trade practice, not just a customs-enforcement problem. (federalregister.gov) USTR has not yet announced any penalties or country findings. For now, the next milestone is the hearing record, followed by transcripts that the agency said it will post after the sessions end. (ustr.gov)
