Piyush Goyal rejects US excess capacity and forced labour claims at G20

India does not have structural excess manufacturing capacity, and unilateral trade actions over labour and production issues violate global rules, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told a G20 meeting in the United States.

Speaking at the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Goyal hit back at two separate US investigations launched under Section 301. One of those probes has already resulted in a 10 per cent tariff on imports from India and 59 other countries, following allegations that they failed to block goods made with forced labour. A second US investigation into industrial capacity could lead to even more duties on Indian exports.

Addressing the forced labour allegations, Goyal said India’s commitment to ending the practice is "absolute and unconditional", pointing to constitutional bans and July 2026 amendments to the country's foreign trade policy prohibiting such imports. However, he warned that border measures must rely on clear, verifiable evidence rather than blanket presumptions about entire nations or sectors.

"India supports the objective of eliminating forced labour," Goyal said in statements released by his ministry. But he insisted that international cooperation must not involve monitoring members or serve as "a basis for unilateral trade action."

The US, which holds the G20 presidency for 2026, has flagged excess capacity concerns in sectors ranging from steel and textiles to semiconductors and solar modules. Goyal rejected the idea that India’s factories are overproducing. He argued that India is the world's fastest-growing large economy, driven by the domestic demands of its 1.4 billion people, and that its capacity serves genuine local and global needs.

While acknowledging concerns about dumping and predatory pricing caused by hidden subsidies elsewhere, Goyal argued that these should be handled through standard, evidence-based World Trade Organization (WTO) measures like anti-dumping duties rather than unilateral blockades.

Diversifying supply chains is a fair goal, Goyal said, but it "cannot be used as a pretext for measures outside WTO rules" or to dump the burden of adjustment onto developing countries, which need the policy space to build their own industries.

The minister also called for the restoration of the WTO's two-tier dispute settlement system, which has been crippled for years by US blocking of judge appointments, and urged G20 members to preserve special rules that help developing nations catch up.