Indian Goods Face 10% US Duty Since 24 July 2026; China and Vietnam Pay 12.5%

Indian goods entering the United States have faced an additional 10% duty since 24 July 2026. The duty is part of a Section 301 action by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which set additional duties of either 10% or 12.5% on 60 economies. China and Vietnam are in the higher band, according to guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and most of the 60 economies pay 12.5%, according to Global Trade Alert.

For Indian exporters, two questions matter most: which goods are caught, and why India's rate is lower than those of many competitors. The action is titled as a forced-labour measure, and the tier for each economy follows from its rules on imports made with forced labour. The answers depend on product categories and on the band USTR assigned to each economy.

How the Duty Is Applied at the Border

The duty is an additional ad valorem charge, meaning a percentage of the goods' value, placed on top of the normal duty. For China and Vietnam, the 12.5% is added over their most-favoured-nation (MFN) rates. For India, China and Vietnam, the total duty on a covered good is therefore its normal rate plus the Section 301 rate.

The duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, 24 July 2026. Gingercontrol says they apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after that time. Goods already at sea received a narrow exception: goods loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading before that time, and entered for consumption before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 28 July 2026, are exempt.

Importers declare the duty when they enter goods. CBP requires filers to follow a set sequence in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), reporting Chapter 98 first and then Chapter 99 duty numbers, with Section 301 duties listed before other trade remedies.

How USTR Assigned Each Economy to a Band

The investigations began on 12 March 2026, with a Federal Register notice on 17 March, according to Gingercontrol's timeline. USTR published its proposed action on 5 June 2026. The final action is dated 23 July 2026, and Gingercontrol says it followed presidential direction.

The question was whether each of the 60 economies had adopted and effectively enforced a ban on goods made with forced labour. Gingercontrol reports that 54 economies had not imposed a ban at all, while six had rules but had not enforced them effectively.

Global Trade Alert and Gingercontrol both place 17 economies in the 10% band. These are economies that already prohibit forced-labour imports, economies that committed to a ban in a trade agreement, and economies with a partial regime that keeps out certain forced-labour goods. The other 38 economies pay a flat 12.5%.

Five economies, the EU, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland, have combined rates of 10% or 12.5% that depend on existing tariff levels, according to CBP and Gingercontrol.

Why India Pays 10% and China and Vietnam Pay 12.5%

The bands are set by economy, not by product. EY's summary of the final action places India in the 10% band, with China and Vietnam in the 12.5% band, and EcoNiti reports the same split.

EY also places Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and the United Kingdom in the 10% band, and Singapore and Thailand in the 12.5% band. Global Trade Alert's list names the United Kingdom, India, Mexico and Canada among the 17 economies at 10%.

India's placement followed a change in its trade rules. EcoNiti reports that India amended its foreign trade policy on 14 June 2026 to explicitly ban imports made with forced labour, and that USTR treated the change as a policy improvement when it assigned tiers. Gingercontrol's timeline gives 5 June 2026 as the date of USTR's proposed action, which came before that amendment. Yrules, however, dates India's formal notification banning such imports to earlier in July 2026.

Because the rate is set per economy, the band applies to all covered goods from that economy, not to particular products. The 2.5-point gap with China and Vietnam therefore runs across the whole covered share of India's US-bound exports.

Which Indian Exports Fall Outside the Duty

EcoNiti reports that the 10% duty applies to about 55% of India's US-bound exports, leaving an estimated 45% outside it. Goods in the covered share pay the full 10% in addition to their normal duty.

EcoNiti names generic pharmaceuticals, smartphones and goods already covered by Section 232 duties on steel, aluminium and auto parts as exempt. Goods under those Section 232 duties are not charged the new 10%.

CBP's guidance lists exemptions for articles of civil aircraft and ground flight simulators, articles for use in pharmaceutical applications, semiconductor articles, articles of aluminium, steel or copper, and donations for humanitarian relief.

Gingercontrol's list names Section 232 articles, civil aircraft under general note 6 of the tariff schedule, listed pharmaceutical-use articles, and further categories under Note 52.

Yrules lists raw materials whose unavailability would cause economy-wide disruption, and products the United States cannot produce domestically in sufficient quantity or at reasonable cost. It also refers to specific goods from 13 jurisdictions, including the EU, Indonesia, Malaysia, Switzerland, Taiwan and the UK.

EY's summary also lists informational materials, donations and accompanied baggage.

Exact coverage is set by tariff subheadings in the annexes to the USTR action, so the lists above are summaries of exemption categories rather than the full product scope.

For Indian exporters, the rate difference with China and Vietnam is 2.5 percentage points on every covered good.

What the Tariff Means for Exporters and Jobs

On covered goods, a US importer pays 10% on an Indian product and 12.5% on a comparable product from China or Vietnam. For Indian exporters, the rate difference with China and Vietnam is 2.5 percentage points on every covered good.

The effect depends on product mix. Exporters whose goods fall in the exempt categories face no added duty under this action, while those whose goods fall in the covered share pay the full 10% on top of their normal duty.

Points Still Unsettled in the Published Lists

EY's 10% column lists 19 economies, including the European Union and Taiwan, which it marks as combined-rate jurisdictions. Global Trade Alert and Gingercontrol both count 17 economies in that band, and Gingercontrol places the EU and Switzerland in the combined group. Global Trade Alert places the EU and Taiwan in the 10% band.

EY, CBP and Gingercontrol all describe Japan and South Korea as combined rates capped at 12.5%.

On smartphones, EcoNiti names them as exempt. CBP guidance names semiconductor articles, and EY's summary names no electronics category.

On pharmaceuticals, CBP and Gingercontrol name exemptions for pharmaceutical-use articles, while EcoNiti names generic pharmaceuticals.

The affected share also differs. EcoNiti puts the covered share at about 55% of US-bound exports, while Yrules reports that about 70% of India's exports are affected.