The country has decided to impose a 12.5% additional tax on goods exported to the US due to the forced labor process in Sri Lanka’s industrial sector, according to foreign sources.
The media outlet further states that this decision has been taken with the aim of making the US market a fairer place by preventing the import of goods produced using forced labor.
Accordingly, the US administration has decided to impose additional import taxes ranging from 10% to 12.5% on goods imported from 60 countries, including Sri Lanka.
According to the implementation of this new tax amendment proposal, a 10% additional tax is to be imposed on several countries including Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia. A higher duty of 12.5% is to be imposed on the category comprising 45 countries including Sri Lanka.
However, it is said that a special mechanism has been proposed to be included in this proposal to provide some relief to the garment and textile sector, which is a major export sector of the country, but it has not been announced yet how it will be implemented. Market sources say that this new tax will pose a serious challenge to Sri Lankan products competing in the American market.