Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal participated in the opening day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hosted under the United States G20 Presidency.
Speaking at the session on food and trade, Shri Goyal thanked the Presidency for placing food at the centre of the discussions. He said that ensuring food security for all and creating greater opportunities for farmers are central to India’s policy and reiterated that food must never be used as an instrument of pressure against any country. He said that countries of the Global South are among the most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertiliser crises caused by global conflicts, and stressed that today’s fertiliser shortage could become tomorrow’s food crisis.
Shri Goyal said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India ensured food security for over 1.4 billion citizens and supplied foodgrains to several countries in need. He noted that over 800 million people in India are currently being provided foodgrains free of cost.
The Minister said that India maintains public stockholding, procures from small and marginal farmers and, in the event of a harvest shortfall, adopts temporary and transparent measures to ensure the availability and affordability of food. He said these measures are recognised under the WTO, including through the Bali Ministerial Decision and the Geneva Ministerial Declaration. He called for a clear distinction between measures taken to ensure food security and coercive trade actions.
Shri Goyal also referred to existing mechanisms, including the G20 Agricultural Market Information System, established in 2011, and the exemption of purchases by the World Food Programme from export restrictions, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO. He reaffirmed India’s commitment to a rules-based, fair, non-discriminatory, equitable, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core.
The Ministers reached consensus on the outcome document, ‘G20 Statement on the Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions’, and expressed their intent to continue cooperation on the subject.
Earlier in the day, Shri Goyal joined G20 Trade Ministers and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, on a visit to the Rockwell Automation office and factory in Mequon, Wisconsin.
On the sidelines of the Meeting, Shri Goyal held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services and the Foreign Minister of Brazil; the United States Trade Representative; the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and President of the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom; the Secretary of Economy of Mexico; and the Minister of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Poland.
The Minister also attended the welcome dinner hosted by Ambassador Greer and Secretary Rollins of the United States Department of Agriculture at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
