US to host G20 trade talks in Milwaukee next week

The US will host G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee from September 29 to October 1 for talks on forced labour, food trade, industrial overcapacity and trade rules. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will represent India at the ministerial.

Washington: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will host G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee next week for talks on forced labour, food trade, industrial overcapacity and possible changes to a core principle of the global trading system.

The ministerial will be held from September 29 to October 1, according to a programme released by the Office of the US Trade Representative on Friday.

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Greer will lead discussions on eliminating forced labour from global supply chains and addressing structural excess production and capacity. India would be represented by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Ministers will also discuss updating the Most-Favoured-Nation principle and denouncing what the USTR described as the weaponisation of trade in food.

The Most-Favoured-Nation principle requires a World Trade Organization member to extend the same trade advantage granted to one member to other members, subject to exceptions recognised under WTO rules.

The USTR release did not provide details about the changes to the principle that Washington may propose at the Milwaukee meeting.

The gathering will begin on Tuesday evening with a welcome reception hosted by the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers.

The formal programme will open on Wednesday morning with a ministerial meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity.

Steel production and industrial overcapacity have become major points of dispute in international trade. The United States has repeatedly linked excess production to pressure on domestic manufacturers and workers.

Following the steel meeting, Greer and the visiting ministers will tour a Rockwell Automation facility in Milwaukee.

They will meet factory workers and industry executives while walking through the plant, according to the USTR.

The visit is intended to highlight the Trump administration’s claim that its trade programme is accelerating American reindustrialisation and strengthening supply chains.

Greer will deliver opening remarks at the first formal session of the G20 Trade Ministerial on Wednesday afternoon.

The Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Agriculture will host a welcome dinner for the visiting delegations that evening.

The principal ministerial negotiations will take place on Thursday. The programme includes a morning session lasting until 1 p.m. and a second session during the afternoon.

Greer is scheduled to hold a press conference between the two sessions.

The three-day programme will end with a reception at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

The USTR announcement did not disclose Greer’s planned bilateral meetings with individual trade ministers. Such meetings on the margins of a G20 gathering allow participating countries to address disputes and negotiations that fall outside the broader ministerial agenda.

The selection of Milwaukee places the meeting in an American manufacturing centre. The programme’s emphasis on a factory tour, steel capacity, workers and supply-chain resilience also reflects the administration’s focus on connecting trade policy with domestic industrial production.

India is a member of the G20 and has consistently pressed for the concerns of developing economies to receive greater weight in global economic decision-making. Questions involving food trade, industrial capacity, supply chains and the future of non-discrimination rules have direct implications for Indian exports and manufacturing.

The Milwaukee ministerial comes as governments are reassessing their dependence on concentrated supply chains and the effectiveness of existing international trade rules. India and the United States have expanded commercial ties, but their trade relationship has also involved differences over tariffs, market access, agricultural products and the treatment of developing countries within the multilateral trading system.