New Delhi: India is engaged with the US on the Section 301 investigations over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity, the government said Wednesday.
The country is also “parallelly” engaged with the US for finalisation of an interim trade agreement, a framework for which was announced through a joint statement February 7.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched two separate Section 301 investigations on March 11 and 12, 2026, covering 60 economies over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity.
The USTR on June 2 issued its findings in the forced labour investigation and proposed additional tariffs on imports from 60 economies.
The proposal includes a 10 per cent tariff on imports from Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan, and a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from 54 other economies, including India and China. Pakistan and Indonesia are India’s competitors in the trade front.
The measure remains a proposal and has not yet been finalised.
“India remains engaged with the US
on the matter as a part of Section 301 proceedings. India is also parallelly engaged with the US for finalisation of a framework agreement as was announced on 2nd February 2026 and in accordance with the joint statement released on 7th February 2026,” the commerce ministry said.
It said that products covered under section 232 (sectoral) tariffs and certain other products are excluded from these duty proposals.
A special mechanism has also been proposed for textile and apparel products that could allow a certain volume of imports from selected economies to enter the US at lower tariff rates.
“As per the report, the proposed tariffs are not yet final and stakeholders can submit requests to participate in public hearings by 22 June 2026. Written comments can be submitted until 6 July 2026,” the ministry said.
Public hearings will be held on July 7, 2026.
The USTR will consider the comments and testimony received before taking a final decision on the proposed measures.
PTI