India Conveys Position to US Over Latest Tariff Action Amid Bilateral Trade Agreement Talks

India has conveyed its position to the United States over Washington’s latest tariff action and discussions on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are continuing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. The clarification came after the US announced new tariffs ranging between 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. India has been placed in the lower 10% tariff category over concerns related to the import of goods produced using forced labour. Addressing the media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had taken note of the US announcement and reiterated that negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) remain underway. “We have noted the announcement. This is a 301 enforcement action, initiated after the US Supreme Court ruling on the tariff issue. We have made our position clear on this subject. Our talks on the Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US side continue with a view to concluding the BTA at an early date,” Jaiswal said. The latest tariff action follows investigations by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) into the failure of several economies to impose and effectively enforce restrictions on imports produced using forced labour. According to news agency ANI, India was initially considered for the higher 12.5% tariff rate but was subsequently placed in the 10% category following discussions with Washington over labour practices. The 10% tariff slab includes 17 economies, including India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Other investigated economies will face the higher 12.5% rate. The USTR said the tariffs were being imposed at the direction of US President Donald Trump against economies that it claimed had failed to effectively prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the action was intended to address both human rights concerns and what Washington described as distortions in global trade. The tariff decision comes after India amended its Foreign Trade Policy on June 14 to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour. The move was taken after the US initiated investigations into the issue. A Federal Register notice also noted India’s adoption of a forced-labour import prohibition after the proposed tariff measures were announced. However, New Delhi has challenged the US investigations and maintained that such issues should be addressed through the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations rather than unilateral tariff action. The latest action is linked to the Trump administration’s broader review of tariff measures following a February ruling by the US Supreme Court, which struck down the use of emergency powers for last year’s “reciprocal tariffs”. The administration subsequently imposed a temporary 10% tariff on imports from all countries. The new Section 301 measures are part of a separate enforcement action targeting specific economies over forced-labour import restrictions. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the USTR powers to impose tariffs or other measures against countries found to be engaging in unfair trade practices. The latest tariff announcement comes as India and the US continue negotiations on a proposed bilateral trade agreement aimed at expanding trade and addressing tariff and market-access concerns. The US is India’s second-largest trading partner and the biggest destination for Indian exports. Bilateral goods trade stood at nearly $141 billion in 2025, with India’s exports to the US estimated at around $87.3 billion, according to Commerce Ministry data.