India, June 4 -- The US has proposed to impose 12.5 per cent tariffs on 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour, even as officials from New Delhi and Washington are currently holding three-day talks to finalise the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement. The talks that started on Tuesday are being held in New Delhi.

Reacting to the proposed 12.5 per cent tariff, the Indian commerce ministry said New Delhi is engaged with the US on the two Section 301 investigations - over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity. The country is also "parallelly" engaged with the US for finalisation of an interim trade agreement, a framework for which ...