NGO calls on U.S. to rework tariffs on ethically produced Indian rugs
WASHINGTON – GoodWeave International is asking the Trump Administration to be more nuanced in its application of tariffs in India.
The NGO certifies that hand-made rugs have been produced without child labor or forced labor. It also ensures that purchases of GoodWeave-certified rugs support social programs in producer communities.
In an open letter to the Trump Administration, the organization noted that 60% of the hand-knotted, hand-tufted, and hand-woven/flatweave/dhurrie rugs made by GoodWeave-supported artisans and workers in India are sold by U.S. retailers to U.S. consumers.
Trump’s recently imposed 50% tariff hike on India “has disproportionately harmed U.S-based companies who have made a conscious, value-driven choice to eliminate child, forced, and bonded labor from their production processes,” it said.
GoodWeave suggested the U.S. should create a targeted tariff accommodation or significantly reduced duty rate for hand-knotted, hand-tufted, and flatweave/dhurrie rugs produced by licensed, independently verified suppliers “who continue to uphold American standards of child and forced labor free products.”
The organization said it was issuing the request together with more than 70 retail and interior design partners in the United States, and 165 licensed rug producers in India.
“The stakes are high,” it added. “If left unaddressed, the current tariff structure risks undermining decades of ethical trade progress, weakening U.S. businesses, harming American workers, eroding diplomatic trade preferences, and pushing vulnerable workers back into conditions we have all worked hard to end.”
