The United States will impose a 10% tariff on goods imported from India from Friday, as part of a fresh round of duties targeting 60 trading partners over what Washington says is inadequate enforcement of bans on goods produced using forced labour.
The new tariffs, announced by the Trump administration in a Federal Register notice on Thursday, will take effect at 12.01 am EDT on Friday (9.31 am IST on Saturday), replacing the temporary 10% global tariff that expires at the same time.
India is among 18 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Britain, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, that will face a 10% tariff under the new policy.
Meanwhile, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland will be subject to combined tariff rates of 10% or 12.5%, while the remaining 38 countries, including China, will face a 12.5% duty.
The move marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump's administration to restore its broad tariff policy after the US Supreme Court in February struck down the administration's "reciprocal" tariffs of 10% to 50%, which had been imposed under emergency powers to reduce the US trade deficit.
The fresh duties have been imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a legal provision that the administration believes is less vulnerable to judicial challenges than the emergency powers used for the earlier tariffs.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the tariffs were aimed at addressing what Washington considers weak enforcement of forced labour restrictions by its trading partners.
"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 in a statement, adding that the move would help address both human rights concerns and unfair trade practices.
The tariffs will cover 99.4% of US imports, although several categories, including oil and gas, fertilisers, certain food products, and goods already subject to national security tariffs such as steel, aluminium, copper and automobiles, have been exempted. Products compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will also be excluded.
Administration officials have said the new duties will not push tariff rates above levels agreed under existing trade deals with countries that have already negotiated tariff caps with Washington.
The announcement drew criticism from several countries. Norway said the tariff lacked justification as it already enforces strict rules against goods produced using forced labour, while Australia and Brazil described the move as unjustified and said they would seek its withdrawal.
Canada, which was recently hit with separate US tariffs, said it would continue engaging with Washington on the issue. Trade experts said the new measures effectively replace the expiring temporary tariffs while resting on stronger legal footing.
Source: India Today