India and the United States have advanced discussions on an interim bilateral trade agreement as G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee backed a new framework for coordinated action against excess steel capacity and supply-chain distortions.
Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal held talks with US trade representative Jamieson Greer on the first day of the two-day G20 trade ministers’ meeting. Goyal said the discussions focused on bringing an interim agreement under the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement to an early conclusion and covered the deliberations taking place under the US chairship of the G20.
The meeting also highlighted competing positions on the future of global trade rules. The United States has placed four issues at the centre of its G20 presidency: the “weaponisation” of food, structural excess industrial capacity, the Most-Favoured-Nation principle and forced labour in supply chains.
Greer called Goyal a “trade minister for life” while opening the meeting, adding that efforts to build a fairer trading system would continue after the current ministers had left office, with Goyal being the exception. The remark came as both ministers met on the first day of the gathering.
On food security, Goyal said countries should ensure that food remained a source of security, stability and cooperation. He also said the G20 should distinguish between the weaponisation of food supply chains and legitimate measures adopted by governments to meet domestic policy objectives and food-security needs.
Steel overcapacity was among the first concrete outcomes of the meeting. Countries participating in the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity endorsed the “Milwaukee Framework”, which seeks stronger coordinated action through trade remedies, steel supply-chain monitoring and closer scrutiny of transhipment.
The framework is significant for industries that depend on steel, including construction, infrastructure and manufacturing. Steel prices, import flows and the availability of domestic supply can affect project procurement and the cost of buildings, transport networks and industrial facilities. The material supplied for the meeting did not specify new tariffs or a common tariff rate.
Asked whether countries had agreed to raise tariffs on Chinese steel, Greer said individual governments would decide their own measures, while the United States wanted those measures to be coordinated. He said excess capacity had become a greater distortion since G20 leaders first pledged to address it in 2016.
Greer also called for a reassessment of the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, which requires countries to offer the same trade terms to all partners. While describing it as a cornerstone of the trading system, he said its unconditional application could limit governments’ ability to respond to distortive policies and changing market conditions.
India has maintained that it supports a rules-based, open, inclusive, transparent, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, while seeking adequate policy space for developing countries.
The bilateral discussions follow a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on trade, defence, energy and emerging technologies. Before the ministerial talks, Goyal also met chief executives and senior representatives of American manufacturing and technology companies at a roundtable hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers.
He urged US manufacturers to expand their presence in India, work with small and medium enterprises and explore co-investments in advanced manufacturing and resilient supply chains. The G20 meeting will precede the leaders’ summit that the United States is scheduled to host later this year.
