The United States has imposed a 10% tariff on goods imported from India under its new trade measures targeting products linked to forced labour.
The revised tariff regime, which came into effect on Friday, places India in a second-tier group of 17 economies subject to the standard 10% rate. This is lower than the 12.5% duty that had been proposed in March when the US Trade Representative first floated tariffs on 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act.
According to the US Trade Representative, the decision was taken after reviewing India’s forced-labour import prohibition, public comments, testimony, and advice from advisory committees. India had introduced a ban on imports of goods produced using forced labour after the proposal was published.
The new tariff structure gives the European Union and Taiwan more favorable treatment, while countries such as China, Vietnam and others face higher rates of 12.5% in some cases. Japan, South Korea and Switzerland are also placed in a relatively better category under the revised system.
The US has also announced textile tariff-rate quotas for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, allowing a set volume of textile and apparel imports to enter duty-free for three years before the 10% tariff applies. No such quota has been announced for India.
The tariff list excludes several products, including aircraft, certain agricultural goods, minerals, semiconductor equipment, some medical devices and other specified items.