Commerce Minister Goyal defends India against U.S. forced labour and excess capacity investigations
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal defended India against U.S. investigations regarding forced labor and structural excess capacity at a G20 meeting. Goyal emphasized that India's labor policies are constitutionally compliant and argued that trade measures should be multilateral rather than unilateral.
Why it matters
The report highlights ongoing trade tensions between India and the U.S. regarding labor standards and industrial capacity, which could impact future tariff policies.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal informed the G20 Trade Ministers gathered in the U.S. that India does not have structural excess capacity in the sectors identified by the U.S., and that it has taken steps to prohibit the import of goods made using forced labour.
This comes at a time when the U.S. has already levied a 10% tariff on India for not doing enough to stop imports of goods made using forced labour, and is currently investigating it and other countries for structural excess capacity, which could bring additional tariffs.
On both issues, Mr. Goyal said that measures should not be unilateral and must be compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
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