India does not have structural excess manufacturing capacity; taken steps to end forced labour: Goyal

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 labourHe added that India shares the concern of several G20 members that tradedistorting support in some countries leads to dumping and predatory pricingThe Minister was speaking at the G20 Trade Ministersrsquo Meeting in Milwaukee Wisconsin where he spoke on spoke in sessions on structural excess capacity and production updating the MostFavouredNation principle ending forced labour in global supply chains and the closing session a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry saidIndias 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 saidThe US holds the G20 Presidency at presentWhy is the remark importantGoyals 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 capacityA 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 awaitedGoyal informed the G20 Trade Ministers Indiarsquos 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 labourThe US has flagged excess capacity issues in sectors such as steel textiles aluminium automobiles batteries cement chemicals electronics energy goods glass machine tools machinery nonferrous metals paper plastics processed food and beverages robotics satellites semiconductors ships solar modules and transportation equipment as per PTITrade distortionsGoyal said industrial capacity in itself is not the issue however distortions can arise where geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and supportHe 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 industrialiseIndia shares the concern of many members that tradedistorting support in some economies leads to dumping and predatory pricing and addresses it through WTO World Trade Organisation measures such as antidumping and countervailing duties based on evidence which are open to judicial review he saidMost Favoured NationOn updating the MostFavouredNation principle Goyal said Indias trade with G20 members depends on a transparent nondiscriminatory and rulesbased trading systemMostFavouredNation treatment is a key guarantee of this system ensuring that the same terms apply to the smallest and largest trader he saidHe 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 economiesThe Union Minister also called for restoration of the twotier dispute settlement systemWith inputs from PTI