India urges US to reconsider 12.5% proposed tariff, says USTR report flawed

India has asserted that trade issues with the US should be resolved through bilateral trade negotiations rather than unilateral measures urging the USTR to reconsider its proposed 125 per cent tariff citing inconsistencies in its Section 301 into forced labour concernsParticipating in the public hearing Joint Secretary in Department of Commerce Brij Mohan Mishra submitted that in light of Indias genuine engagement on forced labour issues it strongly expresses its concerns at the USTRs US Trade Representative determinationIndia takes the elimination of forced labour seriously as a constitutional obligation and as a matter of international law and principleIndia would like to highlight its concerns with the USTRs report and findings against India he saidThe USTR has not satisfied the relevant legal standards under Section 301d of the Trade Act A mere absence of a forced labour import prohibition without evidentiary basis of other statutory requirements cannot be construed as unreasonable under Section 301 he addedThe USTR determination does not provide a rationale for countrywide tariffs and impermissibly clubs 46 economies including India into a single category according to the written transcript of the hearing held on July 8 and published on the USTR websiteThe USTRs Section 301 investigation report concerns the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labourIndia has stated that the adopted methodology is particularly flawed as the determination is based on case studies of a handful of economies and relied on broad trade patternsThe report he said relies on broad data and it presupposes that an economys imports flagged for this stuff involving imports made with forced labour are exported to the US without providing any sector or countryspecific evidence and actual linkages with forced labourIn 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 American industry he saidIn conclusion it is submitted that the USTR reconsider the imposition of tariff in light of the identified inconsistencies in the report in the Federal Register notice We ask any trade problems be addressed within the framework of the IndiaUS bilateral trade negotiation not through unilateral measures such as this investigation he addedIndia remains willing to engage constructively with the USTR through consultation and dialogue on any specific concernMaking submissions on behalf of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority APEDA Shreyans Gupta First Secretary in the Embassy of India in Washington DC said that the export promotion body objects to the USTRs observations on the import of rice allegedly made with forced labour into India and the alleged impact on such imports in distorting the competitive conditions for the export and domestic sale of rice produced in the USIt is important to note that Indias imports of rice are very small and that caters to targeted demands of specific and niche rice varietiesGupta said that the overall value of rice imported into India in relation to the value of rice exported from India to the US is not even three per centHe added that there are regulatory checks in place that prevent exports from India of imported rice that have been produced with forced labourExport of rice from India to the US is allowed only from the rice mills and processing units registered with the agriculture ministryFor these reasons the present investigation against India may be rescinded without prejudice Gupta said requesting exemption for Indian rice from the proposed duty if the proceedings continueIndustry chamber Ficci has submitted that the proposed additional tariff deserves careful reconsiderationAn additional tariff will increase costs not only for Indian exporters but also for US manufacturers importers retailers and ultimately American consumers the chamber said adding higher tariffs will raise costs for businesses that already follow compliance standardsIt urges that the proposed additional tariffs be reconsidered in light of Indias legal and regulatory safeguards the extensive compliance mechanisms adopted by Indian industry and the potential implications for legitimate trade and resilient USIndia supply chainsCII too has submitted that the proposed 125 per cent additional tariff is neither supported in the evidence presented nor likely to advance the stated policy goalThe USTR report does not establish that Indias policy framework burdens US commerce the chamber saidThe 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 On June 3 the USTR issued its findings in the forced labour investigation and proposed additional tariffs on imports from these economies The proposal includes a 10 per cent tariff on imports from Canada Ecuador the European Union Indonesia Mexico and Pakistan and a 125 per cent tariff on imports from 54 other economies including India and ChinaThe measure remains a proposal and has not yet been finalised The USTR will consider these comments and testimonies before taking a final decision on the proposed tariffsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever