United States government has opened a trade investigation into Nigeria and 59 other countries over concerns that their trade practices may allow the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
This was announced in a notice issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and signed by the General Counsel at the Office of the USTR, Jennifer Thornton.
The notice stated that the investigation formally commenced on March 12, 2026.
The agency stated the investigation was initiated under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether the policies or practices of the affected economies were unreasonable or discriminatory and whether they placed a burden on American commerce.
According to the document, the review will assess whether Nigeria and the other countries have failed to enact or enforce measures preventing the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
Nigeria appears on the list alongside China, India, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.
The USTR explained that the investigation aimed to determine whether gaps in import restrictions across these markets created an uneven global trading environment that disadvantaged American firms.
According to the agency, although many countries outlaw forced labour domestically, weak oversight of imported goods means companies may still access products made under exploitative conditions through international supply chains. The notice pointed out that American law had long taken a strict stance on the issue.
The USTR also warned that forced labour provided producers with an artificial cost advantage, enabling them to sell goods more cheaply and distort competition in global markets.
The agency cited global estimates showing that the problem remained widespread. Data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicates that about 28 million people were trapped in forced labour worldwide in 2021, equivalent to roughly 3.5 out of every 1,000 people.
The ILO also reported that the number of people in forced labour rose by about 2.7 million between 2016 and 2021, with much of the increase linked to exploitation within the private sector. In financial terms, profits generated from forced labour in the global private economy were estimated at around $63.9 billion yearly as of 2024.
Public hearings on the investigation are scheduled to begin on April 28, 2026, at the US International Trade Commission in Washington, DC, and may run until May 1. Stakeholders intending to participate in the hearings or submit comments must file their submissions through the USTR’s electronic portal no later than April 15, 2026.
In this article