G20 Trade Ministers Reach Consensus on Statement Opposing Use of Food as Tool of Pressure

Key facts

• G20 Trade Ministers reached a consensus on a statement opposing the weaponisation of food through coercive trade actions at the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hosted under the United States G20 Presidency.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said food must never be used as an instrument of pressure and highlighted the impact of food, fuel and fertiliser disruptions on developing countries.
• Goyal stated that more than 800 million Indians are provided foodgrains free of cost and that India's food security measures are recognised under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, including the Bali Ministerial Decision and Geneva Ministerial Declaration.
• Goyal cited the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), established in 2011, and the WTO decision to exempt World Food Programme purchases from export restrictions.
• On the sidelines, Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss an early conclusion of an interim agreement under the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.
• Goyal also met Brazilian ministers Mauro Vieira and Márcio Fernando Elias Rosa on expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement, and Poland's Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański and Mexico's Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard on trade and economic cooperation.