USTR said 14 economies joined the United States in a joint statement to examine excess capacity in autos, batteries, chemicals, foundational chips and solar panels.
The Office of the US Trade Representative said on Wednesday that 14 economies joined the United States in a joint ministerial statement on structural excess capacity. Senior officials met on the margins of the OECD Trade Committee to start the work. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade published the statement text on Thursday.
The signatories are the trade ministers of Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The statement follows G20 trade ministers' talks in Milwaukee on September 30 and October 1.
The group said it will use dedicated sector platforms, starting with autos and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels. Senior officials were meeting Thursday at the OECD to begin. They committed to a technical meeting before December 2026 to draft terms of reference, share non-confidential data and identify gaps.
The statement calls on all countries to end non-market policies that distort markets and sustain excess production. It does not name a country. It says individual defensive measures will work better if governments share information and act together, and it invites others inside and outside the OECD to join.
Ambassador Greer said economies had raised cases of capacity that persistently exceeded demand and was sustained by foreign governments' non-market policies. No tariff or quota was announced with the statement.
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- Ambassador Greer said economies had raised cases of capacity that exceeded demand and was sustained by non-market policies.