New Delhi:Even as India and the United States continue negotiations on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, Washington has put New Delhi in the spotlight through a fresh set of trade findings that could potentially lead to additional tariffs on imports from India.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has named India among 54 economies that it says have failed to adequately prohibit or effectively prevent the import of goods allegedly produced using forced labour. Based on the findings of its Section 301 investigations, the USTR has proposed additional duties ranging from 10% to 12.5% on imports from affected economies.

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The development comes at a sensitive moment, with Indian and US officials currently engaged in a three-day round of trade discussions in New Delhi aimed at advancing a long-pending trade deal.

The USTR released the findings of 60 investigations launched earlier this year under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974. According to the agency, India is among the countries that do not have sufficiently effective measures in place to prevent the importation of goods produced with forced labour.

India is not alone. The list includes several major US trading partners such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Vietnam, among others.

In particular, theUS Trade Representativedetermined:

The following 54 economies have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour:

Algeria; Angola; Argentina; Australia; the Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Brazil; Cambodia; Chile; China, People’s Republic of; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Iraq; Israel; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Libya; Malaysia; Morocco; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Peru; the Philippines; Qatar; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; Venezuela; and Vietnam.

Under the USTR proposal, countries that already enforce import bans on forced-labour goods, have committed to introducing such measures through reciprocal trade arrangements, or maintain partial restrictions could face an additional tariff of 10%.

Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now