China, Russia, and a group of countries opposed to the US's unilateral tariffs

China, Russia, and a group of countries stated that they consider the US's imposition of unilateral tariffs on countries under the pretext of 'forced labor' to be a 'hegemonic practice' and condemned it.According to a report by Xinhua, China, along with nearly 20 countries including Russia, Pakistan, Venezuela, Sudan, and Cambodia, made a joint statement at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

We are firmly opposed to forced labor. At the same time, we are concerned about and opposed to the imposition of additional tariffs on our economies based on unilateral accusations that we have failed to prevent the importation of goods produced with forced labor.

The statement emphasized that the imposition of tariffs under the pretext of measures against forced labor would violate the right to development and the right to work, and would harm the stability of global industrial chains and efforts to eradicate poverty.The US Supreme Court had ruled on February 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not grant the president the power to impose tariffs, thereby rendering the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the name of 'reciprocal tariffs' null and void.The Washington administration then initiated investigations against 16 economies, including China, the European Union, Mexico, and India, on March 11, citing 'structural capacity surplus in the manufacturing sector', and against 60 economies, including China, on March 12, citing 'insufficient efforts to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor and to effectively enforce this prohibition', under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced on June 2 that, as a result of the investigation, it proposed to impose additional tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on products imported from the 60 economies, including China.Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act grants the US president the authority to impose tariffs and other measures to counter the effects of any action, policy, or practice of a foreign government that violates international law.