Explained: Why India banned imports of goods made using forced labour and what it means

India on Tuesday amended the foreign trade policy to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labourThe announcement was important as the US Trade Representative USTR is carrying out an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against 60 countries including IndiaIt has alleged that the acts policies and practices of 60 economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour is unreasonable and burdens or restricts US commerce and are thus actionable under Section 301b of the Trade ActHere are the few questions and answers to under why Forced Labour is now at the centre of global tradeWhat is forced labourAs per the ILO International Labour Organisation Forced Labour Convention 1930 No 29 Forced Labour means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarilyWhy is it being discussed nowIt has become a major trade issue as countries tighten import controls on goods linked to abusive supply chains The US has launched Section 301 investigations against 60 countriesAccording to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative GTRI the EU has adopted rules to block or withdraw forcedlabour products from its marketWhich countries use such labourNo government formally endorses forced labour but the ILO estimates that about 28 million people worldwide are affectedGTRI has stated that cases are reported across agriculture mining manufacturing construction and services with Chinas Xinjiang region receiving particular international scrutinyWhich countries explicitly ban imports made with forced labourThe US Canada and Mexico prohibit such imports The EU has adopted a Forced Labour Regulation while India has created a legal framework to impose similar restrictions through its Foreign Trade PolicyWhy is forced labour treated as a trade issueIt lowers production costs and allows goods to undercut responsibly produced products It is therefore treated both as a human rights violation and an unfair trade practice Goods manufactured using forced labour make responsibly produced goods uncompetitiveWhat is the USTR section 301 probe on forced labourIn March 2026 USTR opened investigations into 60 economies including India over alleged failure to adopt or enforce forcedlabour import bansIn June it proposed additional tariffs of 125 per cent on 54 countries including India and 10 per cent on countries like Pakistan Canada and the EU blocIndias stand It has stated that the country takes the elimination of forced labour seriously as a constitutional obligation as a matter of international law and as a matter of principleThe USTRs determination does not establish a sufficient causal link between the absence of forced labour import prohibitions and its impact on US commerce In relation to India there is inadequate and insufficient evidence that lack of forced labour import ban causes an unfair competitive advantage to the detriment of the US industry it has saidWhy is USTR using forced labour to impose additional tariffsUSTR argues that weak import controls allow unfairly cheap goods to compete with US products and circumvent American bans GTRI said the American approach of imposing countrywide tariffs without productspecific evidence risk turning forced labour issue into a protectionist trade barrierWhat is DGFTrsquos Directorate General of Foreign Trades notificationThis notification inserts a paragraph in the FTP foreign trade policy 2023 to empower the central government to prohibit by notification the import of goods produced or manufactured wholly or in part through the use of forced labourWhat does DGFT seek to achieveAccording to the GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava the notification aims to align Indias trade rules with international labour standards prevent imports linked to forced labour strengthen supplychain credibility and improve Indias position in trade negotiationsWhy is the notification important and how will it be implementedIt creates an enabling framework not an immediate ban DGFT may investigate complaints seek information and recommend restrictions after which the government can prohibit specific products through separate notificationsDid India earlier have no law against forcedlabour marketsSrivastava said India already prohibited forced labour domestically but lacked an explicit tradepolicy provision to block imports made with forced labour abroad and this notification fills that gapWill it affect IndiaUS trade negotiationsThe GTRI said it should strengthen Indias position by addressing a concern raised in the Section 301 probe However it is unlikely by itself to resolve the dispute or guarantee relief from proposed US tariffsThe Section 301 investigation and the proposed IndiaUS trade agreement are separate processes and Washington may continue to pursue tariffs based on its own assessment of enforcement 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