China opposes US 'forced labor' tariffs, calls for them to be cancelled

BEIJING — China's commerce ministry said on Monday that new U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese goods over alleged forced labor were unjustified and amounted to protectionism, and urged Washington to remove them.

On Friday, the United States imposed new tariffs of 10 percent and 12.5 percent on goods from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China, alleging those countries failed to curb imports made by forced labor.

China was assigned a 12.5 percent rate.

The new U.S. duties could risk undermining a fragile trade truce reached between the world's two largest economies last year and came as the two sides prepare for a possible visit to the U.S. by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.

The commerce ministry in a statement accused Washington of long manipulating the issue of forced labor, calling the new tariffs a typical act of unilateralism and protectionism, but also signalled willingness to continue dialogue "based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit" to address concerns.

"This time, it (Washington) has again initiated a Section 301 investigation and imposed unilat ...