Washington's new tariffs on European goods, citing alleged shortcomings in the bloc's forced labour controls, were swiftly rejected by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Friday. Kallas, speaking on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila, stated, "You can't say that for the European Union." This defense of European labour standards comes as the EU continues to fortify its borders, often relying on precarious labour and outsourcing asylum processing to countries with documented human rights abuses.
Kallas asserted that the EU's labour laws are robust. "If you compare our labour laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so it's not really grounded," she added. The Trump administration imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union. These tariffs were levied over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans, just as a temporary 10% global tariff expired.
Asked about the EU's expectation of being included in the U.S. action, Kallas replied, "Who can keep track of the tariffs going on and off? No, we were not expecting this." These tariffs represent the latest effort to restore President Donald Trump's campaign vision of a near-global tariff. This follows the U.S. Supreme Court's decision earlier this year to strike down the "reciprocal" tariffs he had imposed under emergency powers, which aimed to shrink the U.S. trade deficit.
The Hypocrisy of 'Good Labour Conditions'
The EU will seek clarification from Washington, Kallas confirmed. She added that the bloc had honoured commitments under a transatlantic trade agreement reached one year ago and viewed the new tariffs as a shock. "We had a deal with America and we have kept to that deal, that side of the deal," she said. "That's why this is a negative surprise that this agreement is not kept." The EU's concern for the integrity of trade agreements and capital flows stands in stark contrast to its treatment of human movement.
While Kallas champions the EU's "very good labour conditions," the reality for countless migrants within Fortress Europe often involves exploitation and precarious work. The criminalisation of movement forces many into informal economies, where the very "forced labour" the US alleges could be found, yet remains unaddressed by the border regime. The EU's focus on defending its image on the global stage diverts attention from the systemic vulnerabilities created by its own migration policies.
Selective Solidarity and Sanctions
Separately, Kallas discussed the European Union's latest sanctions package against Russia. She stated it was aimed at putting more pressure on Moscow and limiting its ability to finance the war in Ukraine. "It is to deprive them of the financing of this war," she said. Kallas indicated that sanctions were having an effect on Russia's economy, making it harder for Moscow to raise capital abroad. "We also see that due to the sanctions, they can't raise capital outside," she noted. "It is clear that if we put this in place, it has an effect together with other elements."
The European Union approved its 21st sanctions package against Russia one day ago. The Council of the EU confirmed these curbs target the country's banking sector and cryptocurrency networks. Kallas framed sanctions as only one element of a broader European strategy to pressure Russia into serious negotiations with Ukraine. "We have different elements of this approach. The sanctions are just one of them," she said. "We are looking at what more we can do to pressure Russia to actually sit around the negotiation table and negotiate with Ukraine." This swift and comprehensive response to the war in Ukraine, including immediate temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees, highlights the racist double standard embedded in Europe's asylum system. Migrants fleeing conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea continue to face pushbacks, detention, and death at the borders, revealing a structural rather than incidental disparity in European solidarity.