By: Brian Walczyk, Compliance Manager, TradeInsights, LCB, CCS

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced, as of March 12, an investigation into sixty (60) countries under Section 301(b) for Forced Labor Violations.

Ambassador Greer stated, “These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor and how the failure to eradicate the abhorrent practices impacts U.S. workers and businesses.”

A pre-publication of the Federal Register notice can be found here, which includes the list of the sixty (60) countries under investigation.

The USTR has requested consultation with each of the governments of the countries, and will hold hearings in Washington, D.C., on April 28. Interested persons should submit written comments and requests to appear at the hearing, along with a summary of the testimony, by April 15, 2026.

We will continue to monitor the situation and issue updates as needed. Please contact your V. Alexander account team, or you may also contact our Trade Compliance team at tradeinsights@valexander.com with any questions, and you can always follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.