Justifying the proposed new tariff, the USTR noted this week that the EU’s own forced labor regulation would apply only from December 2027.
At a press conference later Thursday afternoon, Šefčovič said he had been “very surprised” by the findings of the U.S. probe, and stressed that “when it comes to the labor standards, the European Union clearly has, if not the highest, definitely one of the highest in the world.”
While the EU trade chief didn’t indicate the bloc would alter its timeline for rolling out the new rules, he noted that “in the coming weeks” Brussels will publish some implementation guidelines on the regulation, which will give the U.S. a better idea of how it will be used.
Greer made clear that even early implementation of the new rules wouldn’t automatically spare the EU from tariffs.
“Once it is implemented, that’s a positive step,” Greer said. “We really want to see real evidence, certainly of a law being implemented, but especially of it being effectively enforced, and I think it will take some time for countries to demonstrate that.”
Greer argued that U.S. companies, which have to comply with strict anti-forced labor rules, are penalized when competing with foreign companies that are subject to softer rules.
“Our competitors in other countries don’t have those same burdens,” he said. “They don’t have an expectation that they need to control for this to the same extent that’s required by U.S. laws.”
This report has been updated.