US imposes 10% to 12.5% forced-labour tariffs on 60 countries

The US imposed 10 per cent tariffs on goods purchased from India and 16 other countries over the issue of the use of forced labour in the production of such items. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the new tariffs on 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act on Friday, a day before the expiration of 10 per cent additional levies on all countries. The USTR statement said that Greer had taken the final action, at President Donald Trump’s direction, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by imposing tariffs on 60 economies for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour.
The action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and a distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere," Greer said in a statement in Washington DC. The 10 per cent tariff rate applies to 17 countries, including India, Canada, the UK, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Earlier, India was bracketed in countries attracting 12.5 per cent tariffs. A Federal Note in this regard took note of India's adoption of a forced labour import prohibition after the unveiling of the proposed tariffs in June. On June 14, India amended its foreign trade policy to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.
The Trump administration had initiated the two investigations after the US Supreme Court, in February, dismissed last year's "reciprocal tariffs" using emergency powers as illegal. The administration responded by levying 10 per cent tariffs on all countries that expire on Friday. India has contested both the investigations initiated by the USTR and insisted that these issues can be discussed as part of the bilateral trade agreement that is under discussion.
The US is India's second largest trade partner and the largest destination for exports. In 2025, bilateral goods trade was pegged at nearly USD 141 billion, with India's exports pegged at USD 87.3 billion, according to commerce department data.