India has told America that trade related issues between the two countries should be resolved through mutual dialogue and bilateral trade negotiations instead of unilateral decisions. India has appealed to the US Trade Representative (USTR) to reconsider the proposed 12.5 percent additional tariff. India says that the Section 301 investigation conducted on issues related to forced labor has many shortcomings and shortcomings.

During the public hearing organized in this matter, Joint Secretary of the Commercial Department, Brij Mohan Mishra said that India considers it as its legal and international responsibility to eliminate forced labour. India takes this matter very seriously and respects international laws and principles.

Brij Mohan Mishra said that India wants to register its concern over the USTR report and the conclusions drawn against India. According to him, USTR has not met the legal standards required under Section 301(d) of the Trade Act. Merely stating that there is no ban on import of products made using forced labor in a country cannot be considered as sufficient evidence and cannot be termed as unfair trade practice under Section 301.

Written report of the hearing held on July 8, which was later published on the USTR website. According to him, India said that no clear basis has been given for imposing additional tariff on the entire country. India also says that USTR has put 46 different economies in the same category, while the circumstances of every country are different.

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USTR’s Section 301 Investigation Report

USTR’s Section 301 investigation report alleges that many countries lack effective enforcement and prevention of the import of goods made from forced labor. India opposed this conclusion, saying that this investigation is based on examples of some selected countries and comprehensive trade data, while no concrete evidence has been presented against any particular country or industry. India says that the report assumes that products related to forced labor are reaching America from the countries pointed out, whereas there is no proper evidence to support this.

India specifically said that in its case there is no strong evidence to prove that American industries are being harmed due to India’s policy or Indian products are being unfairly benefited.

India appealed to USTR

India appealed to USTR to reconsider the proposed tariffs in view of the shortcomings present in the report. India says any trade dispute should be resolved within the framework of India-US bilateral trade negotiations and not through such unilateral investigations and tariffs. India also said that it is ready for constructive dialogue and consultation with the US on any specific concerns. Shreyans Gupta, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Washington, also spoke on behalf of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). He objected to USTR’s comment that rice produced with forced labor is imported into India and this harms American rice producers.

Import of rice in India

Shreyans Gupta, First Secretary in the Indian Embassy, ​​said that rice is imported into India in very limited quantities and this is done only to meet the demand of certain varieties. He said that the total price of rice imported from India is less than three percent of the Indian rice exported to America. He also said that there are strict rules in place in India that prevent the export of rice produced with forced labour. Permission to export rice from India to America is given only to those rice mills and processing units which are registered with the Ministry of Agriculture.

FICCI opposes additional tariffs

FICCI has also opposed this proposed additional tariff. FICCI says that this will put additional economic burden not only on Indian exporters but also on American manufacturers, importers, retailers and ultimately American consumers. FICCI said that imposing additional tariffs will increase the costs of companies that are already following all the rules and standards. The organization said that this proposal should be reconsidered considering India’s legal framework, rules adopted by the industry and strong supply chains of both the countries.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) also said that the proposed 12.5 percent additional tariff is not supported by the available evidence and will not serve the purpose for which it is being introduced. According to CII, the USTR report does not prove that India’s policies are imposing any undue burden on American business.

USTR had started separate investigations

USTR had initiated two separate investigations under Section 301 on March 11 and 12, 2026. A total of 60 economies were examined for issues related to forced labor and excess industrial capacity. On June 3, 2026, USTR released its report. In this report, it was proposed to impose additional tariffs on imports coming from many countries. According to the proposal, 10 percent additional tariff can be imposed on products coming from Canada, Ecuador, European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan. There is a proposal to impose additional tariff of 12.5 percent on products coming from 54 other countries including India and China.

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Trump Tariffs: America has proposed major trade action against 60 countries and economies including India. The US Trade Representative (USTR) says that these countries have not implemented effective restrictions on the import of goods allegedly made with forced labor.

The American agency has proposed imposing additional duties, calling it harmful for American trade and industry. This development has come to light at a time when continuous talks are going on between India and America to finalize the bilateral trade agreement.

Proposal for action against 60 economies

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement issued on Tuesday that after an investigation under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, it has been concluded that the policies and practices of 60 economies are adversely affecting US trade. According to USTR, US businesses are being harmed by these countries’ failure to effectively prevent imports of products made with forced labor. Therefore, these cases have been considered actionable under US trade law.

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India also included in the list

India is also included among the 54 countries and economies which USTR has placed in this category. Apart from India, countries like Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Britain and United Arab Emirates are also included in this list. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the failure of America’s major trading partners to stop the import of products made with forced labor is unacceptable. According to him, due to this, American workers have to face unequal competition in the global market.

proposal to impose additional fees

Based on the findings of the investigation, USTR has proposed to impose additional duties on products coming from the concerned countries. According to the agency, an additional 10 percent duty may be imposed on countries that have implemented a ban on products made from forced labor or have made a commitment to do so. There is a proposal to impose additional duty up to 12.5 percent on other countries. Apart from this, a separate arrangement has also been proposed for some imports related to textile and apparel sector.

The investigation started in March

USTR said that the investigation into this matter was started on March 12. Statements of approximately 60 witnesses were taken during the investigation and approximately 500 comments were received during the public consultation process. After considering all these aspects, the agency has prepared its conclusions.

USTR gave reasons for action

The US agency says that the lack of effective restrictions on the import of products made from forced labor weakens efforts to end labor exploitation at the global level. According to USTR, this gives an unfair advantage to low-cost producers, impairs market competition, and harms companies that do not use forced labor. This also increases the possibility of bypassing the restrictions already in place.

The proposal came amid India-US trade talks

This proposal has come at a time when India and America are working towards finalizing the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. In the last few months, several rounds of talks have taken place between officials of New Delhi and Washington. Issues like market access, tariffs, digital trade and agriculture have been prominently included in these talks.

Tension increased after Trump’s tariff policy

This step of USTR has come amid trade tensions arising after the reciprocal tariff policy of US President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, India was also among the countries which the US had warned of imposing higher tariffs. However, later some proposed steps were temporarily stopped for talks with trading partner countries. India has consistently maintained that it is working towards a balanced and win-win trade agreement while protecting its sensitive domestic sectors.

America is still India’s biggest trading partner

Despite trade differences emerging from time to time, America remains India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in goods between the two countries has crossed the level of more than 120 billion dollars in recent years. Both India and America have reiterated their commitment to further strengthen economic relations.

Comments sought till July 6

USTR has invited written comments on the proposed measures by July 6. After this, a public hearing will be held on July 7. The final decision will be taken after hearing and considering the suggestions received. The agency has clarified that charges will not be automatically imposed based on its findings. But if the US administration decides to move forward, additional tariffs, import quotas or other trade restrictions could be imposed under Section 301.