India has called for measures consistent with World Trade Organization rules to address distortions in global trade during the concluding day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, United States.
Speaking on structural excess capacity and production, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India shares concerns raised by several members that trade distorting support in some economies could contribute to dumping and predatory pricing.
Goyal said such concerns should be addressed through measures that comply with WTO rules, including anti dumping and countervailing duties based on evidence and subject to judicial review. He said industrial capacity itself should not be treated as a problem, while trade distortions may emerge when production becomes concentrated in certain locations because of hidden subsidies and other forms of support.
The Minister said diversification of production and supply chains is a legitimate objective, but it should not be used to justify actions that fall outside WTO rules or shift the adjustment burden onto developing countries. He stressed that developing nations must retain sufficient policy space to strengthen their industrial sectors.
Goyal also said the sharing of statistics and data should be carried out through existing mechanisms.
He highlighted India’s position as the world’s fastest growing large economy, supported by domestic demand from a population of 1.4 billion people. He said India is developing manufacturing value chains covering stages from design to finished products and serving as a trusted link in global supply chains.
According to Goyal, India’s manufacturing capacity is focused on meeting both domestic and international requirements, and the country does not have structural excess capacity in the sectors identified by the G20 Presidency.
Goyal also said India’s trade with G20 members depends on a transparent, non discriminatory and rules based trading system. He described Most Favoured Nation treatment as an important guarantee that provides the same trading terms to both smaller and larger traders.
Addressing the issue of forced labour in global supply chains, Goyal said India’s commitment to eliminating forced labour is absolute and unconditional.
The Minister reaffirmed India’s support for a fair, equitable, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. He also stressed the need to protect policy space for developing countries to expand their economies and meet the needs of their populations, while supporting consensus based decision making.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Goyal held bilateral discussions with trade counterparts from Australia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, among other countries.