Trade ministers from 15 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, have signed a joint ministerial statement to build sector-specific platforms aimed at addressing manufacturing overcapacity. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the countries issued the statement on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, based on discussions held at the Group of 20 trade ministers' meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from September 30 through October 1, 2026. The joint statement emphasizes that structural overcapacity, wherever it arises, distorts prices and production patterns, hinders innovation and competition, and poses a significant challenge to all trading partners. The participating economies expressed concern about existing or projected structural overcapacity and production in several sectors, including autos and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels. As reported by USTR, the statement calls on all countries to eliminate structural excess capacity and production in their economies, including by ending the use of non-market policies and practices that distort markets and contribute to the problem.
India has joined the US-led coalition of 15 nations to address structural excess capacity in manufacturing sectors. According to The Times of India, the coalition includes trade ministers from Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Poland, Turkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States. The initiative specifically targets five categories of sectors that are globally dominated by China: autos and EVs, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels. As reported by The Times of India, the countries have committed to coordinating sectoral action through new, dedicated sectoral platforms to examine and take effective action against structural excess capacity and production in these key manufacturing sectors. The logic behind targeting these sectors is that if one country mass-produces goods at low prices with government support, another country's market can be overrun by those goods, leaving it exposed to economic coercion.
Separately, the US trade representative is probing several countries, including India, for structural excess capacity under Section 301. According to The Times of India, this development comes weeks after US President Donald Trump met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The joint declaration follows a G20 trade ministers meeting in Milwaukee last week that failed to reach consensus on industrial capacity issues. As reported by USTR, senior officials finalized the agreement on the sidelines of an OECD Trade Committee meeting. The move sharpens pressure on market-distorting policies and exposes divisions within the G20. Meanwhile, the United States continues an investigation targeting more than a dozen trading partners, expected to result in higher tariffs. China has rejected the claims, accusing Western nations of using industrial policies to justify protectionist measures. The initiative represents a significant step toward addressing what the participating economies describe as growing challenges posed by excess capacity in manufacturing sectors, which hinders market-based investments.
