UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ‘U.S.’s 10% tariffs will not affect 45% of exports’
Q1. The 10% tariff imposed on Indian goods in July 2026 following the U.S. probe into imports produced with forced labour was levied under which one of the following legal provisions?
- A. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, 1962
- B. Section 201 of the Trade Act, 1974
- C. Section 301 of the Trade Act, 1974
- D. Title VII of the Tariff Act, 1930
Q2. Under the USTR's final forced-labour findings covering 60 economies, the single largest group of investigated economies was subjected to which of the following outcomes?
- A. The 10% tariff tier comprising 17 economies
- B. The highest tariff tier comprising 38 economies
- C. The lower tariff tier comprising 5 economies
- D. The textile tariff-rate-quota group comprising 4 economies
Q3. Which one of the following U.S. bodies conducted the forced-labour investigation and issued the final findings that set the differentiated tariff tiers?
- A. The U.S. International Trade Commission
- B. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- C. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
- D. The Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce
Q4. How many economies were placed in the 10% forced-labour tariff tier that includes India?
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding India's exports to the U.S. in the context of the July 2026 forced-labour tariff:
1. Pharmaceuticals fall outside the scope of the new 10% duty.
2. Smartphones fall outside the scope of the new 10% duty.
3. Roughly 45% of India's exports to the U.S. are unaffected by the new duty.
4. India received the same textile tariff-rate-quota concessions as every other South and South-East Asian economy investigated.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- Pharmaceuticals fall outside the scope of the new 10% duty.
- Smartphones fall outside the scope of the new 10% duty.
- Roughly 45% of India's exports to the U.S. are unaffected by the new duty.
- India received the same textile tariff-rate-quota concessions as every other South and South-East Asian economy investigated.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 3 only
- C. 4 only
- D. 2 and 4 only
Q6. In the context of the forced-labour tariff measures, the 'textile mechanism' extended to countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia refers to which of the following?
- A. A blanket exemption removing all U.S. duties on the entirety of their textile and apparel exports
- B. Tariff-rate quotas letting them import U.S.-origin cotton and textile goods at concessional duty
- C. An import quota capping the volume of textile goods they may ship to the U.S. each year
- D. A U.S. subsidy financing the modernisation of their domestic textile spinning mills
Q7. For how many consecutive financial years, up to and including FY 2024-25, has the United States remained India's largest trading partner?
- A. Two
- B. Four
- C. Six
- D. Ten
Q8. The Foreign Trade Policy amendments cited by India during the forced-labour probe are formulated and administered by which one of the following?
- A. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Finance
- B. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- C. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- D. The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
Q9. Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 authorises the USTR to remedy an offending foreign trade practice through how many broad categories of action?
- A. Two
- B. Five
- C. Three
- D. Seven
Q10. Consider the following statements regarding India's pharmaceutical exports to the United States:
1. The United States is the largest single destination for India's pharmaceutical exports.
2. Indian generic medicines account for nearly 40% of prescriptions by volume in the U.S. market.
3. Pharmaceuticals are the sole category among India's top exports to the U.S. exempted under the July 2026 forced-labour duty.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The United States is the largest single destination for India's pharmaceutical exports.
- Indian generic medicines account for nearly 40% of prescriptions by volume in the U.S. market.
- Pharmaceuticals are the sole category among India's top exports to the U.S. exempted under the July 2026 forced-labour duty.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q11. Which one of the following is the foundational ILO Convention on forced labour, whose fundamental obligation is to suppress all forms of forced or compulsory labour?
- A. The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
- B. The Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
- C. The Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
- D. The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
Q12. Following India's engagement with the USTR through written submissions and public hearings, by how much was its proposed forced-labour tariff reduced?
- A. 1.5 percentage points
- B. 5 percentage points
- C. 2.5 percentage points
- D. 10 percentage points