Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for a WTO-compliant approach to addressing global trade distortions, while emphasising the need to preserve policy space for developing countries to industrialise.
Goyal made the remarks at the concluding day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he participated in discussions on structural excess capacity and production, the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle, forced labour in global supply chains and the future of the multilateral trading system.
India says manufacturing capacity is demand-driven
Speaking on structural excess capacity and production, Goyal said India is the fastest-growing large economy, with a domestic-demand-driven economy serving 1.4 billion people.
He said India is building manufacturing value chains spanning design to finished goods and emerging as a trusted link in global supply chains. India’s manufacturing capacity, he said, serves both domestic and global requirements and does not constitute structural excess capacity in the sectors identified by the G20 Presidency.
Goyal said India shares concerns among several WTO members that trade-distorting support in some economies can result in dumping and predatory pricing.
Goyal backs evidence-based trade remedies
According to Goyal, such concerns can be addressed through WTO-consistent measures, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties, based on evidence and subject to judicial review.
He said industrial capacity in itself is not the issue, while distortions can arise when geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and other forms of support.
Goyal said diversification of production and supply chains is a legitimate objective, but should not be used as a pretext for measures outside WTO rules or for shifting the burden of adjustment to developing countries.
He stressed that developing economies must retain policy space to industrialise and added that the sharing of statistics and data should take place through existing mechanisms.
India stresses importance of MFN principle
On the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, Goyal said India’s trade with G20 members depends on a transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based trading system.
He described MFN treatment as a key guarantee of this system, ensuring that the same terms apply to both the smallest and largest traders.
Goyal also emphasised that consensus remains central to WTO decision-making and said special and differential treatment must be preserved to enable developing countries to catch up with developed economies.
He called for the restoration of the WTO’s two-tier dispute settlement system.
India reiterates commitment to ending forced labour
Addressing forced labour in global supply chains, Goyal said India’s commitment to its elimination is “absolute and unconditional”.
He cited Article 23 of the Constitution, which prohibits forced labour as a fundamental right, and noted that India has ratified ILO Conventions 29 and 105.
India amended its Foreign Trade Policy in July 2026 to prohibit imports of goods produced using forced labour, he said.
Goyal added that border measures should be based on specific and verifiable evidence rather than presumptions about entire countries, regions or sectors. Such measures, he said, must also respect due process and WTO rules.
ILO should remain central to labour standards
Goyal said the International Labour Organization (ILO) is the competent, universal and tripartite body for labour standards.
India supports the objective of eliminating forced labour and the voluntary exchange of good practices among G20 members, he said, provided such cooperation does not involve monitoring of members, create new obligations or result in information being used as a basis for unilateral trade action.
India backs rules-based multilateral trade
Goyal reaffirmed India’s commitment to a rules-based, fair, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
He emphasised the importance of preserving policy space for developing countries to grow and meet the needs of their populations while upholding consensus-based decision-making.
Thanking Ambassador Greer and the US G20 Presidency for the arrangements and hospitality in Milwaukee, Goyal said India participated in the meeting in a constructive spirit and shared its concerns and inputs across all four themes.
He also extended India’s full support to the United Kingdom for its G20 Presidency in 2027.
Goyal holds bilateral meetings with trade ministers
On the sidelines of the meeting, Goyal held bilateral discussions with the Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia, the Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness of France, the Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea and the Minister of International Trade of Canada.
The meetings formed part of India’s broader engagement with G20 trading partners on issues related to trade, supply chains and the global economic system.