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Informist, Saturday, Jul. 25, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – India continues to engage with the US in connection with the additional 10 valorem duty on goods imports from India following New Delhi's failure to entirely prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour, the commerce ministry said Saturday. The Office of the US Trade Representative Friday imposed tariffs on 60 economies that had failed to stop the import of goods produced with forced labour.

 

"India continues to engage with the U.S. on this matter as part of the ongoing negotiations for the India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement," the commerce ministry said in a release. 

 

According to the White House, a 10% tariff rate is applicable in cases where economies have imposed, partially imposed, or committed to impose measures to prohibit the import of certain goods made using forced labour. India, Canada, and the UK are among the countries in this category. The office determined 10-12.5% rate of duties for certain products from the European Union, Japan, and Switzerland, among other countries. All other economies investigated will face a duty at the rate of 12.5%.

 

According to the commerce ministry, a substantial share of India's exports to the US, which currently attract zero additional duties, such as generic pharmaceuticals, smartphones, and certain other specified products, continue to remain outside the scope of the additional 10% duty. Further, products like steel, aluminium, and automobile parts are not subject to the additional 10% duty.

 

"On account of these exemptions, an estimated 45% of India's exports to the United States remain outside the purview of the additional 10% Section 301 duty," the release said. "The remaining 55% of exports will attract the additional 10% duty, where India's tariff incidence is comparatively lower than that for most other economies covered by the investigation."

 

The US is India's largest export destination. India's exports to the US in the June quarter totalled $25.47 billion, marginally lower than a year ago. Imports from the US, on the other hand, rose to $16.65 billion from $13.45 billion last year. India and the US had total trade of $132.14 billion in FY26, with India exporting $86.51 billion in goods to the US and importing $45.63 billion from the world's largest economy.

 

The commerce ministry reiterated that the two countries remain committed to early conclusion of the India-US bilateral trade deal. Negotiations for the trade pact have seen many ebbs and flows, with the two countries having major differences over opening up India's sensitive agricultural sector to Washington's genetically modified products. The Donald Trump administration's steep reciprocal tariffs and the Section 301 probe against India on the failure to effectively prohibit the import of goods manufactured using forced labour have added to the complexity of finalising a deal.

 

The two countries had on Feb. 7 issued a joint statement agreeing on a framework for an interim agreement for mutually beneficial trade but are yet to finalise the first phase of the trade agreement.  End

 

US$1 = INR 96.56

 

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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