Trump imposes new forced labor tariffs; India gets 10% rate while China faces higher duty

• Trump administration imposed new tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
• India is among 17 countries facing a 10 per cent tariff, while 38 countries received a 12.5 per cent rate.
• The White House says the move targets countries with weak enforcement of forced labor bans.
• The tariffs replace Trump's temporary 10 per cent global tariff that expired on Friday.
• India views the lower tariff as a positive signal for the long-term US-India trade relationship.

The Trump administration on Friday (24) introduced a new round of tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, replacing a temporary global tariff that expired earlier in the day. The new duties are based on allegations that several countries have not done enough to enforce bans on goods produced through forced labor.

The tariffs were announced through a Federal Register notice and took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Friday (24). They were imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, giving the administration a new legal basis to maintain broad tariffs after the US Supreme Court struck down president Donald Trump's earlier reciprocal tariff program in February.

The Supreme Court had ruled against Trump's previous reciprocal duties, which ranged from 10 per cent to 50 per cent and had been introduced under emergency powers to reduce the US trade deficit.

The new tariff structure places countries into two main categories. Seventeen countries, including India, Canada, Britain, Mexico, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Jordan, Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago, will face a 10 per cent tariff.

The remaining countries are generally subject to a 12.5 per cent tariff. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Switzerland also receive tariff levels that total either 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent when combined with existing most-favored-nation duties.

China is among the countries facing the higher rate. The administration has repeatedly accused Beijing of failing to address forced labor concerns involving Uyghur minorities, allegations that China continues to reject.

"The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same," Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

"Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

According to the administration, the tariffs cover about 99.4 per cent of US imports. However, several important products are exempt, including oil and gas, fertilizer, selected food products, aircraft and aircraft parts, critical minerals, and goods already covered by national security tariffs such as steel, aluminum, copper, and automobiles.

Goods that were already in transit before the tariffs took effect will remain exempt until next Tuesday (28).

India received one of the lower tariff rates after the US pointed to recent changes in India's foreign trade policy related to forced labor imports.

"As a result of these actions, the Trade Representative has advised me that the goods of these economies should be tariffed at the 10 per cent rate to further encourage these economies to effectively enforce such prohibitions," Trump said in a memorandum.

The decision is being viewed in India as a modest but positive development. The United States is India's second-largest trading partner and its biggest export destination. Bilateral goods trade between the two countries reached nearly $141 billion in 2025, with Indian exports totaling about $87.3 billion.

One Indian industry-body official said, "A reduction in the tariff from 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent is modest in percentage points but significant in signalling. It suggests that Washington is willing to calibrate enforcement while preserving the strategic trajectory of the India–US economic partnership."

Several governments challenged the justification for the tariffs. Australia, Brazil, and Norway criticized the move, while Canada said it would continue discussions with Washington. The European Union acknowledged that the new tariff levels remained within commitments made under earlier U.S.-EU trade discussions, while Britain said its businesses would not face additional tariff burdens under its existing agreement with the United States.

Trade experts said the latest action was largely expected. Kelly Ann Shaw, a former White House trade adviser during Trump's first term, said the policy largely preserves the existing trade environment, although the administration expanded the list of products excluded from the tariffs.

The latest action marks another step in the Trump administration's effort to rebuild its global tariff strategy while relying on a legal framework that is expected to face fewer court challenges than the reciprocal tariff program struck down earlier this year.