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A US trade representative confirmed the new levies today were being dished out over 'forced labour'

Donald Trump has slapped Britain with a new 10 per cent import tariff as the global trade war escalates.

The tax will be added onto UK goods after Mr Trump's last set of levies expire.

New duties - spanning from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent - target around 60 global trading partners, including the UK, the European Union, Canada, Japan, and India over alleged forced labour violations.

“Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere,” Jamieson Greer, a senior trade representative, said in a statement.

"I am encouraged by the trading partners who have moved quickly to adopt forced labour import prohibitions, and look forward to ensuring their effective enforcement."

The move "is the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken — that any country has ever taken", another White House official boasted.

Mr Greer confirmed the new levies today - with some outlets pointing to Britain's reliance on Chinese goods as to why it has been targeted.

A 2021 report by MPs found evidence that Beijing had detained Uyghur Muslims and forced them into unpaid jobs in the nation's factories.

"Major companies in fashion, retail, media and technology in the UK" were "complicit" through their supply chains, the report said.

Clothing and solar panels drew particular fury - with critics blasting the latter as "the dirty business of net zero".

A BBC probe, meanhwile, found that some 500,000 minority workers were being coerced into cotton-picking jobs in China.

Around 93 per cent of cotton grown the country last year came from Xinjiang, home to the Uyghurs - and their forced labour.

The latest wave of taxes is the latest development in the international trade war which was triggered when Mr Trump returned to office for his second term last year.

The Supreme Court ruled the series of global tariffs were illegally enforced - stopping the President in his tracks.

DONALD TRUMP'S TARIFFS: 

Canada has been subjected to Mr Trump's toughest taxes as the President is projected to hit the country with a 50 per cent tariff, applying to a variety of goods, in response to "unwelcome treatment" north of the border.

And last night, Canada told the President it "should not be targeted", describing itself as a leader against importing goods made with forced labour.

"If the intent is truly to address forced labour, the focus should be a coordinated approach through a multilateral mechanism," Matthew Holmes, executive vice-president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said.

"The timing of this is somewhat suspect as previous rounds of tariffs sunset."

The Commander-in-Chief also signed an order targeting the Commonwealth country on Wednesday night in retaliation for how the Canadian Government taxes dairy, cars, and alcohol.

As it stands, these duties will come into effect on August 19 and mark a significant escalation in trade tensions between the two neighbours.

The White House insisted the tariffs were essential for the US economy to protect American business owners.

Among the goods set to be charged are everyday products such as wine and beer, alongside industrial goods like commercial cement.

However, some key exports will not be slapped with the 50 per cent tax, including energy, critical minerals and fish.

Last week, Mr Trump threatened to impose tariffs after smoke from Canadian wildfires crossed over into US airspace.

Announcing the extraordinary intervention in a Truth Social statement, he said: "We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests, and brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable."

And, despite the legal setbacks in the US, Mr Trump has ploughed on with his fiscal stategy to target economies across the world.

Just on Wednesday, Washington slapped 25 per cent tariffs on American imports from Brazil.