Explained: Why India Banned Import of Goods Made by Forced Labor | Today’s news

The government has amended the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 to ban the import of goods made with forced labour, a move that comes amid a US probe into forced labor practices in 60 countries, including India, PTI reported.

According to a gazette notification dated July 13, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has inserted a paragraph in the Foreign Trade Policy that states: “Import of goods produced or produced in whole or in part using forced labor is prohibited.”

The notice does not immediately ban any products or imports from specific countries. Instead, it empowers the government to ban identified goods through future notifications after investigations conducted by the DGFT, PTI reported.

The notification further states that its provisions will enter into force 30 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

What has changed in foreign trade policy?

Under the amended foreign trade policy, the central government now has the power to ban the import of specific goods if it finds, on the basis of investigation or other relevant evidence, that those goods have been manufactured using forced labour.

The procedure for conducting such inquiry will be prescribed in the Procedures Manual, 2023.

PTI reported that the DGFT has also inserted a new definition in Chapter 11 (Definitions) of the FTP, 2023. It defines “forced labour” as any work or service extorted from any person under threat of any penalty and for which the person has not volunteered, in accordance with the ILO Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

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Why did India make this change?

According to PTI, the development comes at a time when the US Trade Representative (USTR) is conducting Section 301 investigations in 60 economies, including India, over concerns related to forced labour. ÚSTR argued that these countries failed to enforce bans on the import of goods produced with forced labor.

On June 3, the US proposed imposing a 12.5% ​​tariff on imports from 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to ban imports of goods made with forced labour.

Six countries – Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan – would face an additional 10% import duty because they have introduced domestic measures to ban imports made with forced labour.

India is also engaged in Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations with the US, making this change significant in the broader trade context.

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Does the notification immediately ban any imports?

No. The notice does not immediately ban any products or imports from any country. Instead, it creates a legal framework that allows the government to ban identified goods in the future after an investigation by the DGFT proves that they were manufactured using forced labour.

Commenting on the development, think tank GTRI said the notification establishes a legal framework rather than imposing an immediate ban on imports as reported by PTI.

“Its effectiveness will depend on how the government conducts the investigation, the evidence needed to establish forced labor and the products it ultimately targets,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.

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What could be the impact?

Srivastava told PTI that the announcement signals that India is strengthening its domestic legal framework in line with international standards, a move that could strengthen its position in future trade negotiations and market access discussions.

He said U.S. authorities consider products such as cotton, textiles, polysilicon for solar panels, seafood, metals, batteries and electronics to be particularly vulnerable to forced labor risks, especially if linked to China’s Xinjiang region. “Yet the US and EU continue to import many such products from China, highlighting the challenges of enforcing forced labor rules,” he said.

Agneshwar Sen, head of trade policy at EY India, told PTI that by adopting the definition contained in the ILO Forced Labor Convention 1930 (No. 29) verbatim, India has joined the same international standard used in the US. “This is the core principle: India only refutes the US allegations; it says it can also police forced labor in its supply chains, including, by implication, prison-made goods or involuntary labor anywhere, not just under the US flag,” Sen said.