India Signs Joint Ministerial Statement To Address Excess Capacity in Key Sectors
It also aims at ending the use of non-market policies and practices that distort markets and perpetuate structural excess capacity and production, USTR said in a release.
Chennai: India, and 14 other countries, including the US, signed a Joint Ministerial Statement, agreeing to address structural excess capacity and production. Initially, sectors like automobiles and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels will be up for US scrutiny.
On the margins of the OECD Trade Committee, the United States Trade Representative convened a meeting of senior officials of 14 economies, including India, Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Poland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom.
These economies joined the United States in signing a Joint Ministerial Statement that expresses our collective resolve to work together in new, dedicated sectoral platforms to examine and take effective actions that address structural excess capacity and production in several key sectors of concern.
It also aims at ending the use of non-market policies and practices that distort markets and perpetuate structural excess capacity and production, USTR said in a release.
“Left unchecked, these issues will continue to cripple domestic industries, displace local production, and hinder our ability to raise the standard of living for workers and their families. The Trump Administration will continue to engage with our trading partners to defend our domestic industries, workers, and economy from distortions resulting from these pervasive policies and practices,” USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer said.
The declaration will initially cover automobiles and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels.
A technical meeting before December 2026 will develop terms of reference, assess damage and mitigation efforts, and identify information gaps. Other countries are invited to join.
On March 11, 2026, nearly seven months before the announcement, USTR launched a Section 301 investigation into structural excess capacity across 16 economies, including India.
In the case of India, USTR cited expanding capacity and potential export-driven oversupply in solar modules, steel and petrochemicals. It noted that solar-module capacity was nearly three times annual domestic demand. The deadline for final Section 301 findings on excess capacity is March 11, 2027.
India is now joining Washington in tackling the very issue for which its own manufacturing is under American investigation,” finds GTRI.
“Further, participating economies are coordinating against market distortions without confronting the US over its own trade-rule violations during the past two years,” it said.
The test is whether this cooperation protects domestic manufacturing or gives Washington greater legitimacy to challenge India’s industrial expansion.