India has banned the import of goods made with forced labour, the trade ministry announced on Tuesday. This moves comes as a step that could help prevent imposing new tariffs from a United States investigation.
India is among several nations that could face new U.S. trade tariffs of up to 12.5%, following accusations that they did not prevent the import of goods made with forced labor.
The United States is presently investigating two Section 301 investigations involving India: one related to alleged imports produced with forced labor, and another focused on structural excess manufacturing capacity.
The ministry issued the notification on Monday, said it empowers "the central government to prohibit, by notification, the import of goods produced or manufactured, wholly or in part, through the use of forced labour".
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the country’s foreign trade body, will assess whether imported goods are produced using forced labour and, if such evidence is found, will recommend that the government ban the import of those products after conducting consultations, according to the notification.
The notification is set to come into force after 30 days.
Like most countries, the bulk of goods from India currently face a 10% U.S. tariff. But Washington is expected to introduce steeper tariffs through two separate probes into forced labour and excess industrial capacity.
