The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed trade action against 60 economies, including India, for allegedly failing to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on the import of goods produced with forced labour.
In a statement, the USTR said it had concluded, under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, that the acts, policies and practices of the 60 economies are “unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce”, making them actionable under American trade law.
India is among 54 economies that, according to the USTR, have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on imports made with forced labour.
The list also includes countries such as Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
“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,” US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
According to the USTR, the absence of effective forced labour import bans undermines efforts to eliminate forced labour globally, distorts market conditions by allowing lower-cost production, hurts businesses that do not use forced labour, and enables circumvention of existing restrictions.
It said economies that have already adopted, or committed to adopt, forced labour import prohibitions could face an additional tariff of 10%, while all others could be subject to a 12.5% duty.
The development comes as senior trade officials from the US and India are engaged in a three-day round of discussions in New Delhi aimed at advancing a proposed bilateral trade agreement.
The USTR has also suggested a separate mechanism for textiles and apparel that would permit a specified volume of imports from selected economies to enter the US market at a lower Section 301 tariff rate.
The agency further indicated that it intends to pursue responsive trade actions based on the findings of its ongoing investigations.
