The Indian government has reacted to United States' proposal to impose additional tariffs over forced labour concerns. It mentioned that both the countries are engaged in discussions over such claims, while confirming further talks to finalise a trade deal.
The clarification comes after the United States Trade Representative (USTR) proposed to impose an additional 12.5% tariff on India and 59 other economies over allegations of using forced labour to produce imported goods under Section 301 of US Trade Act, 1974.
The statement issued by Press Information Bureau on Wednesday, June 3 read, "India remains engaged with the U.S. on the matter as a part of Section 301 proceedings. India is also parallelly engaged with the US for finalisation of a framework agreement as was announced on 2nd February 2026 and in accordance with the joint statement released on 7th February 2026."
Citing the USTR report, the government assured that the proposed tariffs are not yet final and stakeholders can submit requests to participate in public hearings by June 22. Written comments can be submitted till July 6, while public hearings will be held on July 7. The US agency will consider the comments and testimony received before taking a final decision on the proposed measures.
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It further clarified that the, "products covered under section 232 tariffs and certain other products are excluded from these tariff proposals. A special mechanism has also been proposed for textile and apparel products that could allow a certain volume of imports from selected economies to enter the U.S. at lower tariff rates."
On June 2, USTR in a statement allegedthat a total of 60 economies have failed to enforce rules against imported goods made via forced labour.
"Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the acts, policies, and practices of 60 economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and are thus actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act," the statement read.
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Which economies have been impacted?
Tariffs have been proposed to imposed on economies such as Algeria; Angola; Argentina; Australia; the Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Brazil; Cambodia; Chile; China, People's Republic of; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Iraq; Israel; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Libya; Malaysia; Morocco; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Peru; the Philippines; Qatar; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Venezuela; Vietnam, Canada; Ecuador, the European Union; Indonesia; Mexico; and Pakistan.
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