The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has strongly questioned the United States’ decision to impose a 10% Section 301 forced-labour tariff on Indian exports, stating that the measure is not backed by credible evidence and appears designed to preserve existing trade barriers. In a report released Thursday, GTRI noted that the US has not produced evidence that India imports goods made with forced labour. ‘The 10% U.S. tariff on Indian exports under the forced-labour investigation lacks a credible factual basis,’ the report said. GTRI highlighted that India had amended its Foreign Trade Policy in June 2026 to prohibit imports produced using forced or compulsory labour, a move that helped reduce the proposed tariff from an initial 12.5% to 10%. Despite the policy change, around 70% of India’s exports to the US—including engineering goods, textiles, chemicals, machinery, plastics, leather products, gems and jewellery, and furniture—will now attract the normal Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff plus the new 10% Section 301 duty. The report argues that the tariff primarily serves to maintain the Trump administration’s tariff wall after the expiry of temporary Section 122 tariffs, rather than targeting a proven forced-labour issue. It also noted that India has been excluded from the textile and apparel tariff-rate quota exemption available to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Article and image source: malaysiasun.com
