Washington DC [US], June 3 (ANI): The United States on Tuesday, June 2, 2026,
announced a fresh slew of additional tariffs of 10 per cent and an additional duty of 12.5 per cent on key global economies, claiming that investigations have revealed goods being imported from 60 countries are produced via forced labor. India is among those countries.
The USTR listed 54 economies which it claimed have failed to impose and effectively
enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour. The list
includes countries such as Australia, China, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, and Russia.
Other countries listed included Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka;
Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkiye UAE, the United Kingdom.
The details were shared by the US Office of Trade Representative in a press statement.
According to the USTR, economies that already have some form of forced labor import
prohibition, or have committed to implementing such measures through trade
agreements, could face an additional tariff of 10 per cent. Other economies may face a
12.5 per cent additional duty.
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The proposed action also includes a textile mechanism that would allow a certain volume
of apparel and textile imports from some economies to enter the US at a reduced Section
301 tariff rate.
As per the USTR, the action comes under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 which
allows measures to be taken over 60 economies over their acts, policies and practices
related to the failure to what it called impose and prohibit goods produced with forced
labor–calling it unreasonable and a burden on US commerce.
As a result of these investigations, the USTR proposed additional duties on all products
of the investigated economies, and invited public comments on the move.
“For economies that impose a forced labor import prohibition, that have committed to
impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, or
economies that have imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the
importation of certain forced labor goods, the U.S. Trade Representative proposes 10%
as the rate of additional duties. For all other economies, the U.S. Trade Representative
proposes 12.5% as the rate of additional duty. The U.S. Trade Representative also
proposes a textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile
imports from certain economies to enter the United States at a reduced Section 301 tariff
rate”, the statement said.
The USTR flagged 6 economies for having failed to effectively enforce a prohibition on
the importation of goods produced with forced labour. These include the European Union, Pakistan and Canada.
“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods
made with forced labour is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American
workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” said Ambassador
Jamieson Greer.
The fresh salvo of proposed tariffs comes at a time when Indian negotiators are set to
focus on securing preferential market access against competitors during talks with the
visiting US team to finalise the bilateral trade agreement (BTA), sources said on Monday.
The sources told ANI that trade relief from US Section 301 investigations will also be on
the top of the agenda with US trade team.
The talks, scheduled June 1-4, are led by US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch and India’s
Additional Secretary Darpan Jain.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, the round will finalize details of the interim pact and advance negotiations under the broader BTA on market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion and economic security alignment.