Washington, DC, July 24 (ANI): The United States on Thursday unveiled new tariff slabs of 10% and 12.5% on several economies under Section 301, with India placed in the lower 10% tariff category.
Officials told ANI that while New Delhi was initially considered for a 12.5% tariff, it secured the lower rate following productive discussions with Washington on labour practices.
The development comes after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies as part of an action directed by U.S. President Donald Trump over what it described as inadequate measures to prohibit the import of goods produced using “forced labour.”
According to the USTR, India is among 17 economies that will face the lower 10% tariff. The group also includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, and Bangladesh.
Officials told ANI that India was originally considered for a 12.5% tariff but was moved to the 10% category following constructive engagement with the United States on labour practices.
The new duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, affect major trading partners including India, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, and will take effect from Friday.
The announcement was made by the USTR on Thursday as Ambassador Jamieson Greer took final action, at President Trump’s direction, to impose tariffs on 60 economies for their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the U.S. Trade Representative authority to impose tariffs or other punitive measures against countries found to be engaging in unfair trade practices.
The statement announced two tariff categories — 10% and 12.5% — and said that a 10% Section 301 duty applies to investigated economies that either impose a forced labour import prohibition, commit to implementing such a ban through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, or have introduced partial measures preventing the import of certain forced labour goods.
These economies include Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
The USTR further stated that a tariff rate of 10% or 12.5%, after accounting for the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rate, would apply to certain products from the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland that are not otherwise exempted.
It added that a 12.5% Section 301 duty would apply to all other investigated economies.
U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said President Trump believes decades of diplomatic efforts have failed to eliminate forced labour from global supply chains.
“President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains. The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said.
He praised countries that had taken swift action to address the issue and said he looked forward to ensuring effective enforcement of such measures.
The latest move follows the USTR’s decision in March to launch investigations into 60 economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether their practices involved failures to enforce bans on goods produced through forced labour.
The investigations were followed by consultations with more than 45 governments and several public hearings.
The USTR said it received, reviewed, and analysed more than 1,600 written comments on the proposed action.
The decision marks the latest escalation in the global trade dispute that President Trump reignited after returning to office in January last year.
The move follows an earlier ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found several tariffs imposed under emergency powers to be unlawful, prompting the administration to pursue alternative legal avenues to advance its trade agenda. (ANI)
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