The US Trade Representative (USTR), an agency responsible for trade policy, trade disputes and trade agreements, has recommended an additional 12.5% tariff on imports from 54 countries, including India, over their alleged failure to prohibit goods made with forced labour from entering their markets.
The recommendation follows an investigation conducted by the Office of the US Trade Representative into forced labour-related trade practices.
Under the proposal, most US trading partners would face an additional 10% duty while countries that lack effective prohibitions or enforcement measures against forced labour-linked imports would be subject to the higher 12.5% tariff. The 54 countries identified include India, China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland.
According to the USTR, the continued importation of goods produced with forced labour by major trading partners is unacceptable and places American workers at a competitive disadvantage.
US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer stated the situation forces US workers to compete on an uneven global playing field and added that the US would no longer tolerate the disparity.
Greer added that while some trading partners have imposed limits through reciprocal trade agreements and frameworks like the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), more has to be done to stop commerce from promoting forced labour worldwide.
Separately, the USTR has proposed a textile mechanism that would allow a specified volume of apparel and textile imports from selected countries to enter the US at reduced tariff rates.
