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ARTICLE · 26 JUNE 2026

Stricter Forced-Labour Regime Ahead?

Millar Kreklewetz
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Under mounting pressure from the Trump administration's proposed 10% tariff, Canada is preparing to introduce stricter legislation to strengthen its forced-labour import regime. While Canada has prohibited forced-labour goods since 2020, U.S. concerns about weak enforcement—citing only 50 intercepted shipments and two prohibitions—have prompted the federal government to signal imminent legislative changes that will increase scrutiny of supply chains and compliance requirements for Canadian impor

CanadaInternational Law
Robert Kreklewetz
Robert Kreklewetz
Daniel Zhang
Daniel Zhang

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Forced-labour compliance has been a growing issue for Canadian importers for several years. While Canada already has import restrictions on forced-labour products in place, the federal government is now looking to strengthen that regime further — this time under U.S. tariff pressure.

On June 2, 2026, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that Canada had failed to effectively enforce prohibitions on goods made with forced labour. Accordingly, the USTR has proposed an additional 10% tariff on goods from Canada.

In response, Canada has indicated that new legislation will soon be introduced to make that regime even stronger. For importers, this is a clear signal that the forced-labour rules may become stricter.

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