India has joined the United States and 13 other economies in signing a joint ministerial statement aimed at tackling structural excess capacity and production in key manufacturing sectors, as Washington intensifies its push against market distortions caused by non-market policies.
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the statement was signed on 7 October on the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Trade Committee, following talks at the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Besides India and the US, the signatories are Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Poland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
The participating economies will use dedicated sectoral platforms to study the issue and take effective action. The statement also urges countries to end non-market policies and practices that distort markets and sustain overproduction.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said several economies had flagged concerns during the US G20 presidency about countries where output consistently outstripped global demand, attributing the problem to market-distorting government policies.
He said Washington would keep working with trading partners to shield domestic industries, workers and the economy from such distortions.
Separately, India is one of 16 economies facing a USTR investigation, launched in March under Section 301 of the US Trade Act, into whether excess manufacturing capacity linked to government policies could harm American commerce.
The joint statement is a distinct initiative. It neither announces tariffs nor names any country as a target, and the sectors to be examined and any resulting measures will depend on further work by the participating economies.
