New Delhi, June 5 -- As far back as April, India told the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to address all trade concerns within the framework of ongoing negotiations for the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) and not through unilateral measures like alleged use of forced labour in merchandise exported to the US, per the USTR's records. Despite India's submissions in April, and again in May, the USTR, on June 2 proposed to levy an additional duty of 12.5% on 54 nations, including India, for producing goods with forced labour. The USTR's findings on Section 301 investigations came at a time when a visiting American team led by assistant USTR Brendan Lynch was engaged with its Indian counterpart for finalising an interim BTA. Documents reviewed by HT show that in a submission on April 15, the representative of the Indian government strongly refuted the allegation of forced labour. The submission said that since India and the US have "initiated a process of negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement, any trade concerns should be addressed within the framework of the trade negotiations and not through unilateral measures". The submission was made in response to the USTR's March 12 notice on the alleged forced labour issue. The USTR in March launched two separate Section 301 investigations covering several countries, including India. The first investigation was related to the forced labour and the second pertained to the excess industrial capacity (The findings are expected soon). According to a USTR document, India said "the mere fact that products made out of forced labor may enter a country's territory does not indicate any overt or implicit 'permission' by that country for the continuation of forced labor" in the exporting country. The Union commerce and industry ministry did not respond to an email query specifically on this matter....