With additional 10% US tariffs coming into effect, the economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said these tariffs are appears to be aimed at preserving the Trump administration's tariff wall rather than addressing an unproven forced labour issue in India. It pointed that the tariff under the forced-labour investigation also lacks a credible factual basis as the US has not produced evidence that India imports goods made with forced labour. The new tariff takes effect on July 24, 2026. It has replaced the temporary 10% global tariffs, imposed under Section 122 for 150 days from February 24, that expired on July 24. Goods loaded before July 24 and entered into the US by July 28 are exempt under a transition provision.
The US has imposed a 10% tariff on goods imported from India and 16 other countries as part of a wider action against products made using forced labour. GTRI noted that India was bracketed among countries attracting 12.5% levies on June 3, when the US had proposed tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act, but Washington took note of the amendment New Delhi made to its foreign trade policy prohibiting the import of goods produced using forced labour.
In response to US concerns, GTRI highlighted that India has already amended its Foreign Trade Policy to ban the import of goods produced using forced or compulsory labour. It also pointed that Indian law prohibits forced labour in domestic production through constitutional guarantees and labour statutes. Meanwhile, GTRI said that Trump administration is expected to announce the results of another Section 301 investigation into excess manufacturing capacity, which could lead to additional tariffs on a wide range of industrial products. These duties will be over and above the existing tariff a domestic product is facing in the American market.
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