US imposes final Section 301 forced-labour measures; India placed in lower tariff tier with 10% additional duty
USTR announced final Section 301 forced-labour measures against India on 23 July 2026, adding a 10% duty on some imports from India.
- Section 301 measures use trade restrictions to deal with forced-labour-linked goods, after an investigation.
- An ad valorem duty is a customs tax charged as a percentage of the imported goods’ value.
- Section 232 measures are national-security-related tariffs; goods under Section 232 are not covered by the additional 10% Section 301 duty.
- Some Indian exports to the United States reportedly continue to face zero additional duties under the final Section 301 measures.
What happened: USTR finalised Section 301 forced-labour measures against India
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced final measures under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, 1974 on 23 July 2026. The measures followed USTR’s investigation into acts, policies and practices of 60 economies (including India) concerning the imposition and enforcement of prohibitions on imports of goods produced with forced labour.
Under the final measures, USTR imposed an additional 10% ad valorem duty on imports from India. USTR reduced the final duty rate compared with the initially proposed 12.5% ad valorem duty announced on 2 June 2026.
USTR’s Section 301 action uses tariff adjustments as leverage over forced-labour enforcement. UPSC can frame the case as a test of how labour-related trade measures interact with existing U.S. tariff regimes (like Section 232), and how India’s tariff exposure changes during bilateral trade negotiations.
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