India says the United States’ approach to forced-labour related tariffs is inconsistent, after the USTR provides exemptions for items India says the U.S. still deems critical. An Indian official argues that exemptions weaken the stated policy goal of addressing forced labour impacts in global supply chains and also reduce efforts to prevent such impacts through circumvention practices.
Both reports refer to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) launching two separate Section 301 investigations. The investigations cover 60 economies, with concerns cited around forced labour and excess industrial capacity. In this context, India highlights that the exemption list includes about 1,600 items that the U.S. has carved out despite the forced-labour rationale behind the tariff approach.
The accounts present India’s position as a response to the USTR’s framework and exemptions rather than a change in U.S. underlying investigation scope. They focus on whether the exemption structure aligns with the policy objectives described in the investigations and measures tied to them.
