MILWAUKEE: India has called for WTO-compliant measures to address global trade imbalances, dumping and unfair pricing, while stressing that corrective action should not undermine the policy space available to developing economies.
Speaking on the concluding day of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, US, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India shared concerns raised by several member countries over trade-distorting support in some economies that could contribute to dumping and predatory pricing.
“Such concerns must be addressed through measures consistent with WTO rules,” Goyal said. He pointed to evidence-based anti-dumping and countervailing duties, along with judicial review of such measures, as WTO-compatible mechanisms to address trade distortions.
Goyal said industrial production capacity itself was not a problem. However, trade imbalances could arise when hidden subsidies and government support lead to excessive concentration of production in certain regions.
While diversification of manufacturing and supply chains is a legitimate objective, it should not be used as a justification for measures outside WTO rules, he said. The burden of adjustment should not disproportionately fall on developing countries, which need to retain adequate policy space for industrialisation.
India’s domestic demand advantage
Goyal highlighted India’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, with a domestic-demand-driven economy serving a population of 1.4 billion.
He said India was building an integrated manufacturing value chain, from design to finished products, and strengthening its position as a reliable partner in global supply chains.
India’s manufacturing capacity, he added, was serving both domestic and global requirements. There was no structural excess capacity in India in the sectors identified under the G20 discussions, Goyal said.
Push for transparent trade regime
Goyal said India’s trade engagement with G20 members was based on a transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based trading system.
He underlined the importance of the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle, which provides a common set of trade rules for countries irrespective of their size.
India also reiterated its commitment to ending forced labour in global supply chains, saying the commitment was complete and unconditional.
Goyal reaffirmed India’s support for a WTO-centred multilateral trading system that is rules-based, fair, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, open and inclusive.
He also stressed that developing countries must retain the policy space necessary to pursue development and ensure food security for their populations. The principle of consensus in decision-making should also be preserved, he said.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Goyal held bilateral discussions with trade ministers from several countries, including Australia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
