Just months after American courts dealt a blow to one of Donald Trump's signature economic tools, the White House is back in the tariff business. The Trump administration has proposed fresh tariffs on India and 53 other economies, reviving country-specific trade pressure through a legal route that differs from the one challenged in US courts earlier this year.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed an additional 10- 12.5% duty on imports from India and other economies that, according to its findings, have failed to impose and effectively enforce prohibitions on imports made with forced labour. The proposal comes at a sensitive moment, with a US trade delegation currently in New Delhi negotiating an interim trade agreement and a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with Indian officials.
