By Thapelo Molefe
South African has asked the United States (US) to exempt the country from a proposed 12.5% tariff targeting economies considered to have failed to prohibit and effectively enforce bans on imports produced using forced labour, saying that its laws already prohibit forced labour and provide mechanisms to block the importation of goods made under such conditions.
The request was made during a public hearing hosted by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington DC on Thursday as part of the Section 301 investigations into whether 60 economies adequately prohibit and enforce bans on goods produced using forced labour.
The South African delegation was led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), with support from the Department of Employment and Labour, the International Trade Administration Commission and the South African Embassy in Washington.
In its oral submission, South Africa told the USTR that
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