The US Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed additional import duties of 12.5 per cent on 54 countries, including India, over their alleged failure to prohibit goods made with forced labour from entering their markets.
The proposal comes after investigations into 60 countries for not imposing or effectively enforcing restrictions on imports linked to forced labour, according to the USTR.
"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.
"We will no longer tolerate this disparity," he said.
India has contested the allegations under the forced labour clause and urged the US to discontinue the investigations, maintaining that the issue should be resolved through ongoing bilateral trade discussions.
The USTR said 54 economies, including India, China, Japan, Brazil, Australia, the UK and Saudi Arabia, have failed to introduce and effectively implement prohibitions on imports produced with forced labour.
Meanwhile, Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan were found to have existing prohibitions but inadequate enforcement mechanisms.
Greer said some trading partners had initiated measures to restrict forced labour-linked imports through mechanisms such as the USMCA and Agreements on Reciprocal Trade, but added that stronger action was needed.
"each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labour globally".
Under the proposal, countries that already enforce forced labour import bans, have committed to such measures under reciprocal trade agreements, or maintain partial safeguards against such imports would face an additional 10 per cent duty.
"For all other economies, the US Trade Representative proposes 12.5 per cent as the rate of additional duty," the statement said.
The proposed 12.5 per cent additional tariff would apply to the 54 countries identified in the investigation.
Separately, the USTR has proposed a textile mechanism that would permit a specified volume of apparel and textile imports from select countries to enter the US at lower tariff rates.
The USTR has invited interested parties to submit requests to appear at hearings, along with testimony summaries, by June 22, while written comments can be submitted until July 6.
"USTR will hold hearings about the proposed actions in these investigations on July 7," the statement said.
