India Bans Import of Goods Made Using Forced Labour:
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry amended the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 to prohibit the import of goods produced or manufactured using forced labour.
- The decision comes as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has initiated a Section 301 investigation under the Trade Act of 1974 against 60 economies, including India, alleging inadequate prohibition and enforcement against the import of goods produced using forced labour, thereby burdening US commerce.
- A new paragraph (2.20B) has been inserted into the FTP 2023, explicitly stating that “the import of goods produced or manufactured, wholly or in part, through the use of forced labour is prohibited”.
- The amendment creates an enabling framework, empowering the DGFT to investigate complaints, seek information, and recommend restrictions, following which the government may prohibit the import of specific goods through separate notifications.
- While India already prohibits forced labour domestically, it previously lacked an explicit foreign trade provision to restrict imports of goods produced using forced labour abroad.
- The amendment addresses this gap.
- The Central Government is empowered to identify and ban specific goods following an enquiry by the DGFT. The procedural framework for these inquiries will be detailed in the Handbook of Procedures, 2023.
- India has adopted the definition provided by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).
- Forced labour is defined as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”.
- This policy shift transitions India from relying solely on domestic penal and labour codes to deploying active trade compliance measures, strengthening its bargaining power for a comparative advantage in the upcoming India-US trade deal.
