Sri Lanka plans to tighten customs screening to better identify imported goods made with forced labour and to implement international labour standards in a bid to avoid new U.S. tariffs on its exports, according to a report by Reuters.
Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando told Reuters that Sri Lanka already has strong labour practices and a legal framework in place, but will take further measures to eliminate concerns over child labour and forced labour.
He said the country will adopt the International Labour Organisation’s C190 convention, ratified in April, which recognises the universal right to work free from violence and harassment.
The U.S. is Sri Lanka’s largest export market, accounting for about $3 billion in mostly apparel shipments. The apparel industry, which employs around 300,000 workers, reported $5 billion in exports last year, though shipments dipped 7.4% to $1.53 billion in the first four months of this year.
Sri Lanka is among 60 economies facing proposed new U.S. tariffs of up to 12.5% that could take effect next month.
Under the measures announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Sri Lanka would face a 12.5% duty, higher than competitors such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, which fall under the 10% rate. A special textile mechanism has also been proposed to allow limited apparel and textile imports at reduced tariff rates.
The USTR has cited failures by 54 economies to impose prohibitions on forced labour imports, while six others, including Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ecuador, and the EU, were found to have failed to enforce existing regimes.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said such failures “create a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an uneven playing field,” adding that Washington “will no longer tolerate this disparity.”
Public hearings on the proposed tariffs are scheduled for July 7, with written comments due by July 6 and requests to appear at hearings by June 22.
Fernando said talks with the Office of the United States Trade Representative are ongoing, though Sri Lanka does not yet plan to send a delegation to Washington. (Newswire)