THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

MILWAUKEE, OCTOBER 2, 2026

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday called for WTO-compliant measures to address trade distortions arising from excess capacity, subsidies and dumping, while asserting that India does not have structural excess capacity in the sectors identified by the G20 presidency.

Addressing the concluding day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting here, Goyal said India’s manufacturing capacity is primarily driven by domestic demand from its 1.4 billion people and is being expanded across value chains, from design to finished goods, to strengthen its role as a trusted link in global supply chains.

India shares concerns that trade-distorting support in some economies can result in dumping and predatory pricing, he said, adding that such concerns should be addressed through evidence-based and WTO-consistent instruments such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties, subject to judicial review.

 “Industrial capacity in itself is not the issue,” Goyal said, stressing that distortions can emerge when geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and other forms of support.

While diversification of production and supply chains is a legitimate objective, it should not become a pretext for measures outside WTO rules or shift the burden of adjustment onto developing countries, which need to retain policy space for industrialisation, he said.

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 said MFN treatment remains a key pillar of the multilateral trading system by ensuring that the same trade terms apply to all members, while consensus-based decision-making at the WTO and special and differential treatment for developing countries must be preserved.

Goyal also called for restoration of the WTO’s two-tier dispute settlement system.

On forced labour in global supply chains, the minister said India’s commitment to eliminating the practice was “absolute and unconditional”.

He pointed out that Article 23 of the Indian Constitution prohibits forced labour as a fundamental right and that India has ratified International Labour Organization Conventions 29 and 105.

India also amended its Foreign Trade Policy in July 2026 to prohibit imports of goods produced using forced labour, he said.

At the same time, Goyal stressed that trade measures at the border should be based on specific and verifiable evidence rather than assumptions about entire countries, regions or sectors, and should comply with due process and WTO rules.

He said the ILO remains the competent, universal and tripartite body for labour standards and backed voluntary exchange of good practices among G20 members, provided such cooperation does not involve monitoring of members, create new obligations or lead to information being used for unilateral trade action.

Goyal thanked US G20 Presidency representatives for the arrangements and hospitality extended during the Milwaukee meeting, saying India participated in the discussions in a constructive spirit and shared its concerns and suggestions across all four themes.

He reiterated India’s commitment to a rules-based, fair, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.

The minister also underlined the need to preserve policy space for developing countries to pursue growth and food security while upholding consensus-based decision-making at the WTO.

Goyal extended India’s support to the United Kingdom for its G20 presidency in 2027.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Goyal held bilateral discussions with the trade and tourism minister of Australia, the commerce minister of Saudi Arabia, the minister delegate for foreign trade and economic attractiveness of France, the trade minister of South Korea and the international trade minister of Canada.