Shri Piyush Goyal Reaffirms India’s Commitment to Eliminating Forced Labour, Calls for Evidence-Based Trade Measures

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal participated in the concluding day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 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.

Speaking on structural excess capacity and production, Shri Goyal said that India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world, with a domestic-demand-driven economy serving 1.4 billion people, and is building manufacturing value chains from design to finished goods as a trusted link in global supply chains. He 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.

Shri Goyal said India shares the concerns of many Members that trade-distorting support in some economies can lead to dumping and predatory pricing. He said such concerns are addressed through WTO-consistent measures, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties, based on evidence and subject to judicial review. He emphasised that industrial capacity in itself is not the issue, while distortions can arise where geographical concentration of production is driven by hidden subsidies and support. He said 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. He also said that sharing of statistics and data should take place within existing mechanisms.

On updating the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, Shri Goyal said that India’s trade with G20 members depends on a transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based trading system. He said Most-Favoured-Nation treatment is a key guarantee of this system, ensuring that the same terms apply to the smallest trader and the largest trader. 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. He also called for restoration of the two-tier dispute settlement system.

Speaking on ending forced labour in global supply chains, Shri Goyal said India’s commitment to the elimination of forced labour is absolute and unconditional. He noted that Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labour as a fundamental right, 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 prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.

Shri Goyal said measures at the border must be based on specific and verifiable evidence rather than presumptions about entire countries, regions or sectors, and must respect due process and WTO rules. He said the International Labour Organization is the competent, universal and tripartite body for labour standards. India supports the objective of eliminating forced labour and voluntary exchange of good practices among G20 members, provided that such cooperation does not involve monitoring of members, create new obligations or result in information being used as a basis for unilateral trade action.

Shri Goyal thanked Ambassador Greer and the United States G20 Presidency for the arrangements and hospitality extended in Milwaukee. Recalling Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s words that issues that cannot be resolved together should not come in the way of those that can, Shri Goyal said India participated in the Meeting in that spirit and, across all four themes, shared its concerns and offered constructive inputs.

The Minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to a rules-based, fair, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. He emphasised the importance of preserving policy space for developing countries to grow and feed their people, while upholding decision-making by consensus. Shri Goyal extended India’s full support to the United Kingdom for its G20 Presidency in 2027.

On the sidelines of the Meeting, Shri Goyal held bilateral meetings with the Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia, the Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness of France, the Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea and the Minister of International Trade of Canada.