New Delhi, June 3 -- The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed sweeping new import tariffs on 60 global economies, including India, after concluding a series of major trade investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The USTR said it determined that these 60 economies failed to ban and effectively block imports made with forced labour, calling the practice unreasonable and harmful to US commerce.

This prompted India's ministry of commerce and industry to issue a statement on Wednesday, clarifying that these were still proposals and not finalized tariffs, and that India remains engaged with the US on the matter as part of the formal Section 301 proceedings.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 197...