02 October,2026 04:04 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
India has taken steps to end forced labour, says Piyush Goyal. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. File Picture
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India does not have structural excess manufacturing capacity in the sectors identified by US, and has taken steps to end prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.
He added that India shares the concern of several G20 members that trade-distorting support in some countries leads to dumping and predatory pricing.
The Minister was speaking at the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he spoke on spoke in sessions on structural excess capacity and production, updating the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, ending forced labour in global supply chains, and the closing session, a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.
"India's manufacturing capacity serves its domestic and global needs and that, in the sectors identified by the G20 Presidency, India does not have structural excess capacity," Goyal said.
The US holds the G20 Presidency at present.
Goyal's statements at a time when the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched two separate Section 301 investigations on March 11 and 12, covering 60 economies over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity.
A 10 per cent duty was imposed on countries, including India, after one investigation on forced labour concluded. However, the final findings on the other probe are awaited.
Goyal informed the G20 Trade Ministers, "India's commitment to the elimination of forced labour is absolute and unconditional." He added that India has ratified ILO Conventions 29 and 105 and, in July 2026, amended its Foreign Trade Policy to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.
The US has flagged excess capacity issues in sectors such as steel, textiles, aluminium, automobiles, batteries, cement, chemicals, electronics, energy goods, glass, machine tools, machinery, non-ferrous metals, paper, plastics, processed food and beverages, robotics, satellites, semiconductors, ships, solar modules, and transportation equipment, as per PTI.
Goyal said industrial capacity in itself is not the issue; however, distortions can arise where geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and support.
He added that diversification of production and supply chains is a legitimate objective, but cannot be used as a pretext for measures outside WTO rules or for shifting the burden of adjustment onto developing countries, which must retain policy space to industrialise.
"India shares the concern of many members that trade-distorting support in some economies leads to dumping and predatory pricing and addresses it through WTO (World Trade Organisation) measures such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties, based on evidence, which are open to judicial review," he said.
On updating the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, Goyal said India's trade with G20 members depends on a transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based trading system.
"Most-Favoured-Nation treatment is a key guarantee of this system, ensuring that the same terms apply to the smallest and largest trader," he said.
He emphasised that consensus remains central to the WTO and that special and differential treatment must be preserved to enable developing countries to catch up with developed economies.
The Union Minister also called for restoration of the two-tier dispute settlement system.
(With inputs from PTI)
