Differences among G20 countries prevented trade ministers from agreeing on a joint outcome document at their meeting in Milwaukee, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on October 3.Speaking in Chicago after attending the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in the United States, Goyal described the discussions as fruitful and said participating countries found common ground on several trade-related issues. However, differences of opinion prevented the ministers from adopting an outcome document.Key HighlightsG20 trade ministers could not agree on an outcome document.Piyush Goyal attributed the lack of consensus to differences among some countries.Discussions covered forced labour, WTO reform and excess industrial capacity.India called for evidence-based and WTO-compliant trade measures.G20 members reached consensus on opposing the use of food as a coercive trade tool.G20 Trade Ministers Fail to Reach Outcome DocumentThe two-day G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Milwaukee under the US G20 presidency. Goyal said the discussions were productive but differences among participating countries prevented a final outcome document.He did not identify the countries involved in the disagreements or specify which issues blocked consensus. He said, however, that there was convergence among several members on issues discussed during the meeting.The development highlights continuing differences within the G20 over trade policy, industrial support, supply chains and the future of the multilateral trading system.Goyal Raises Concerns Over Industrial CapacityOne of the major subjects discussed was structural excess capacity and its impact on global manufacturing.Goyal said India does not have structural excess capacity in the sectors identified by the G20 presidency. He argued that concerns about trade distortions should be addressed through WTO-consistent measures, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties based on evidence.India also maintained that industrial capacity itself should not be treated as the problem and that diversification of supply chains should not become a reason for measures outside WTO rules.India Backs Action Against Forced LabourForced labour in global supply chains was another major topic at the meeting.Goyal reiterated India's commitment to eliminating forced labour and said trade measures should be based on specific and verifiable evidence rather than broad assumptions about entire countries, regions or sectors.The minister also pointed to India's July 2026 amendment to its Foreign Trade Policy prohibiting imports of goods produced using forced labour.G20 Discusses WTO and Food TradeGoyal also highlighted discussions on the future of the World Trade Organization, which he said is facing significant challenges.India called for preserving the WTO's consensus-based decision-making system and special and differential treatment for developing countries. Goyal also supported restoring the WTO's two-tier dispute settlement system.On food security, G20 trade ministers reached consensus on opposing the use of food as an instrument of pressure through coercive trade actions. Goyal had emphasised that food should not be used as a tool of pressure against any country.Goyal Calls Discussions ConstructiveDespite the absence of a joint outcome document, Goyal said India participated constructively in the Milwaukee meeting and presented its concerns across the different sessions.He reaffirmed India's support for a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.Goyal also extended India's support to the United Kingdom, which will hold the G20 presidency in 2027.
