Countries protecting domestic industries, India no exception: Piyush Goyal on global trade

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said countries around the world are increasingly protecting their domestic industries, including in sectors such as steel, but India continues to navigate global trade challenges through dialogue, cooperation and trade partnerships.Speaking at the India Global Innovation Connect, he said such measures are part of global trade realities and are not unique to India.“When the EU, the US, and the UK are trying to safeguard their domestic steel industry against competition, or even India for that matter, protecting our economy from unfair trading practices of certain geographies, where we find overcapacity, dumping of goods into India at predatory pricing. These are the realities of life you have to confront. Usually in these situations you try to find ways to mitigate it, you ignore some, you take action against some countries,” he said, according to news agency PTI.He added that responses to such situations often involve a mix of bilateral action and targeted measures. However, he underlined that global trade continues to function within a rules-based system, even if the effectiveness of multilateral institutions has weakened.Goyal said the World Trade Organization (WTO) is currently “not very effective right now”, but maintained that international trade largely continues under its framework.“Fortunately, the WTO as a forum is not very effective right now. So action has to be almost bilateral… but all world trade, at the aggregate, is still very much in its place, still working under the WTO framework,” he said.He added that while countries may adopt different standards and protection measures for domestic reasons, India continues to engage globally through cooperation and negotiated agreements.Goyal said India is dealing with trade challenges from a position of strength and is pursuing multiple free trade agreements to expand market access.He noted that India has signed nine FTAs in the last three to three-and-a-half years, covering 38 countries, many of which are developed economies with higher per capita incomes.He also referred to the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), under which member countries have committed to invest USD 100 billion in India over 15 years.According to him, such arrangements are part of a broader strategy to deepen economic engagement, attract investment and strengthen supply chain integration.On domestic policy priorities, the minister said India is working to strengthen innovation capacity and improve the overall investment environment.He said the government is engaging with companies and partner countries to identify sectors where innovation-led investments can be encouraged, while also reviewing intellectual property rights (IPR) laws to make them more contemporary.Goyal also highlighted infrastructure expansion and regulatory reforms as key drivers of investment inflows, including work on airports, ports, highways and power systems.He said India’s economic growth ambitions are tied to deeper global integration, adding that long-term expansion would depend on higher standards, technological advancement and stronger participation in global trade networks.