New Delhi, 2 October 2026: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal participated in the final day of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He participated in discussions on topics such as structural excess capacity and production, updating the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle, eliminating forced labor in global supply chains and the concluding session.

Speaking on structural excess capacity and production, Goyal said India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, with a local demand-driven economy serving 1.4 billion people and building manufacturing value chains from design to finished goods as reliable links in global supply chains. He said that India's manufacturing capacity meets its local and global needs and in the areas identified by the G20 Chairmanship, India does not have structural excess capacity.

Goyal said India shares the concerns of many members that trade-distorting support could lead to dumping and predatory pricing in some economies. He said such concerns are addressed by WTO-consistent measures, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties, based on evidence and subject to judicial review. He stressed that industrial capacity itself is not the issue, distortions can arise when geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and support.

He said that diversification of production and supply chains is a legitimate objective, but it cannot be used as an excuse for measures outside WTO rules or to put the burden of adjustment on developing countries, which should retain the policy space to industrialize. He also said that exchange of statistics and data should be done within the existing mechanisms.

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  It is important to end forced labor in global supply chains

  
  

On upgrading the most-favoured-nation principle, Goyal said India's trade with G20 members is based on a transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based trading system. He said that most-favoured-nation treatment is a key guarantee of this principle, which ensures that the same conditions are applied to the smallest traders and the largest traders. He stressed that consensus remains central to the WTO and that special and differential treatment should be maintained to enable developing countries to join the ranks of developed economies. He also called for the reestablishment of a two-tier dispute resolution system.

Speaking on ending forced labor in global supply chains, Shri Goyal said that India's commitment to eliminating forced labor is universal and unconditional. He noted that Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labor as a fundamental right, which is enforceable by the Supreme Court. He said India has ratified ILO Conventions 29 and 105 and, in July 2026, amended its foreign trade policy to ban the import of goods produced using forced labour.

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  WTO rules must be respected

  
  

Goyal said border measures should be based on concrete and verifiable evidence rather than assumptions about entire countries, regions or sectors, and should respect due process and WTO rules. He said that the International Labor Organization (ILO) is a competent, universal and tripartite organization for labor standards. India supports the objective of eliminating forced labor and the voluntary exchange of best practices among G20 members, provided that such cooperation does not involve monitoring of members, create new obligations or result in the use of information as a basis for unilateral trade action.

Goyle thanked Ambassador Greer and the United States G20 Chairmanship for the arrangements and extended hospitality in Milwaukee. Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words that issues that cannot be resolved together should not come in the way of issues that can be resolved, Goyal said India had participated in the meeting in the same spirit and had raised its concerns and given constructive suggestions on all four subjects.

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  India's full support to United Kingdom

  
  

The Minister had in advance reiterated India's commitment to a rules-based, fair, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system with the WTO. He stressed the importance of maintaining policy space for developing countries to grow and provide food to their people by maintaining consensus decision-making. Shri Goyal had extended India's full support to the United Kingdom for its G20 chairmanship in 2027.

During the meeting, Shri Goyal held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Trade and Tourism of Australia, the Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Attraction of France, the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Korea and the Minister of International Trade of Canada.