Facing tariffs of up to 10% under Section 301, India says it continues to engage with the US

Faced with up to 10% tariffs on account of failure to pass the USTR muster under the Section 301 investigations launched earlier by the Donald Trump administration, the Union commerce ministry on Wednesday said India remains engaged with the US on the Section 301 proceedings under the US Trade Act of 1974. It may be noted that the tariffs are not final and the nations still have a window to make submissions and testimonies till July first week. 

“The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has concluded investigations against 60 economies, including India, regarding measures of these economies to prevent the import of goods. As a result, the USTR has proposed imposing additional tariffs on imports from the 60 economies under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974,” the ministry said in a release. 

“India remains engaged with the U.S. on the matter as a part of Section 301 proceedings. India is also parallelly engaged with the US for finalisation of a framework agreement as was announced on 2nd February 2026 and in accordance with the joint statement released on 7th February 2026,” it added. 

“Products covered under Section 232 tariffs and certain other products are excluded from these tariff proposals. A special mechanism has also been proposed for textile and apparel products that could allow a certain volume of imports from selected economies to enter the US at lower tariff rates,” it said.  

“As per the report, the proposed tariffs are not yet final and stakeholders can submit requests to participate in public hearings by June 22, 2026. Written comments can be submitted until July 6, 2026. Public hearings will be held on July 7, 2026. The USTR will consider the comments and testimony received before taking a final decision on the proposed measures,” the ministry added in the release.

What is Section 301 investigation?

It may be noted that the USTR initiated investigations under the Section 301 (b) of the Trade Act of 1974 on March 11. The investigations were launched in the wake of the US Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that the unilateral imposition of tariffs on multiple nations without Congressional ratification violated federal law.

On the day of the ruling, US President Trump had indicated that the US will take recourse to alternative legal options. “There are powerful alternatives (to the ruling) that have been approved by this decision …for those that thought they had us,” Trump said.

Within a month the USTR launched the investigations. “Today, the USTR announced the initiation of investigations regarding the acts, policies, and practices of various economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. The investigations will determine whether those acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce,” the USTR said in a release on March 11.  

“The economies subject to these investigations are: China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India,” it added.