India bans import of forced labour products
The Government of India has prohibited imports of goods made wholly or partly with forced labour and linked the move to trade negotiations with the United States.
- The Government of India has notified a ban on importing goods manufactured wholly or partly using forced labour.
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated that imports produced or manufactured through forced labour are prohibited.
- Inquiries by the Director General of Foreign Trade regarding forced labour will follow the Handbook of Procedures (2023).
- The United States found India and multiple other countries had failed to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on imports of goods made using forced labour.
The Government of India has notified a ban on the import of goods manufactured wholly or partly using forced labour. The measure matters because it combines labour-rights enforcement with trade policy and has been presented as relevant to India’s interim trade arrangement with the United States.
The notification says imports produced or manufactured through forced labour are prohibited. It also allows the Union government to specify particular goods to which the prohibition applies.
UPSC may examine how India uses import controls to align trade policy with labour standards, how the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 informs such measures, and what this means for India–United States trade talks.
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