The United States has passed a law penalising countries that permit the import of goods produced with forced labour. Norway is among them and will therefore face a punitive tariff of 12.5 per cent. Barth Eide considers this unfair.

“We disagree with this entire use of tariffs as a general principle. We believe it is taking the world in the wrong direction. And we disagree with the new tariff relating to forced labour. We believe it is highly unreasonable to claim that Norway does not have regulations and practices against it,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide (Labour Party) told E24.

If the United States follows the recommendation of Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Norwegian goods could be subject to an additional tariff of 12.5 per cent.

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the EU has introduced regulations that adversely affect American businesses and is therefore subject to an additional tariff of 10 per cent.

State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik (Labour Party) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also believes Norway should receive the same tariff level as the EU.

“We have the same prohibition in the pipeline as the EU, based on exactly the same timeline. There is no reason to distinguish between us,” Kravik told NRK on Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that clarification regarding the tariffs will come during Thursday. (NTB)

Barth Eide spoke with Marco Rubio during the ASEAN meeting in Manila and presented Norway’s position.