KARACHI: The United States Trade Re­­presentative (USTR) has initiated investigations into what it considers unfair trade practices in 60 eco­nomies, including Pak­istan, according to a press release issued by the USTR on Thursday.

According to the statement, the investigations will focus on whether governments have failed to impose and effectively enforce bans on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.

The economies subject to the investigations include many major US trading partners inc­l­u­ding the European Uni­on, China, Japan, India, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

This comes as Pakistan and the US expressed a desire to enhance economic cooperation last month during a meeting in Washington between Fin­ance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Commerce Secretary Howard A. Lutnick.

This probe may open the door to penalties, inc­luding new tariffs, as Donald Trump seeks to replace duties that the Supreme Court struck down.

Economists noted that the 29pc tariff on Pakistan last year saw immediate hurdles as the US is, by a significant margin, Pakistan’s biggest market, and may not be fully replaceable for Pakistani businesses

USTR Jamieson Lee Greer noted that “despite the international consensus against forced labour, governments have failed to impose and effectively enforce measures banning goods produced with forced labour from entering their markets”.

Greer correlated this directly with the health of the American economy, stating that “American workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labour”.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2026