India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamison Greer during the G20 trade ministers' meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Discussions covered concluding a temporary trade agreement between India and the US, as well as issues related to food supply chains, excess production capacity, and forced labor.
Goyal is on a week-long trip to the US, which concludes on Tuesday. On Thursday, Goyal announced on social media platform X that a productive conversation took place with USTR Greer regarding the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial temporary agreement within the bilateral trade deal between India and the US.
This meeting occurred one day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's phone call with US President Donald Trump, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation in trade, defense, energy, critical technologies, and other areas.
Furthermore, this was the first meeting between the two trade leaders since the US Congress passed legislation allowing Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from India due to its energy purchases from Russia. As of now, Trump has not announced a final decision on this tariff, including its rate and scope of application.
Goyal and Greer also exchanged views on discussions within the US-presided G20. Washington highlighted four areas for ministerial discussion: food militarization, structural excess capacity and production, the Most Favored Nation (MFN) principle, and forced labor in global supply chains.
Regarding food, Greer noted that coercive trade actions affecting food, agricultural products, and raw materials can have serious consequences for economies and their populations. Goyal stated that the overall goal should be to ensure food as a source of stability, security, and cooperation.
He also called for a distinction between the 'militarization' of food supply chains and legitimate measures taken by countries to achieve domestic political goals and meet food security needs.
Structural excess capacity was also discussed at the G20 summit, particularly in the steel sector. The global forum on steel overcapacity agreed on a joint framework calling for more active use of tariffs and reduction of subsidies to combat excess capacity.
The discussion on excess capacity and forced labor takes place against the backdrop of Washington conducting Section 301 investigations against India and other economies. In July, the USTR imposed a 10% Section 301 duty on India as part of an investigation into forced labor. A separate investigation into structural excess capacity has not yet been concluded.
The MFN stance was also on the agenda. Greer opined that an unconditional MFN stance could limit economies' ability to respond to distorting policies and adapt to changing market conditions.
During the G20 sidelines, Goyal also met with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič to assess progress on the trade agreement between India and the EU. He also discussed this agreement with Poland's Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domański.
Goyal also met with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Marcio Fernando Elias Rosa to discuss expanding India's preferential trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc. He also met with Mexico's Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard to discuss expanding trade and investment ties between India and Mexico.