Jun 05, 2026 13:15 pm IST

Opinion | Trump's 'Forced Labour' Tariff Charge May Really Be About Something Else

After the US Supreme Court curtailed the use of emergency powers for reciprocal tariffs, the Trump administration is searching for firmer legal ground.

Syed Akbaruddin Syed Akbaruddin Columnist

Syed Akbaruddin Columnist

 A tariff is no longer just a tax at the border. It is becoming a test of how a product was made, where its inputs came from and whether its supply chain can be trusted. The latest US move on forced labour imports is a warning that market access will increasingly come with political conditions attached.

The proposed measure, brought under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, would apply to goods from 60 "economies", a category that includes Hong Kong and the European Union. India falls in the higher duty category, with a range of its exports facing an additional 12.5% levy in the US market. The significance, however, lies beyond the rate itself. Washington is using domestic law to judge the adequacy of another country's import control regime.

The charge is not that Indian exports use forced labour. It is that India does not do enough to detect tainted inputs before they enter Indian supply chains and later reach global markets, including the US.

Forced labour is not lawful in India. But that answer will not satisfy Washington, which is focused on border enforcement and supply chain traceability. In plain language, the question is not whether India prohibits forced labour. It is whether India can prove the integrity of the inputs embedded in its exports. An ethical concern is being........

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