India–US Interim Trade Deal Explained: Agriculture, Tariffs and Farmer Concerns

Описание: India has agreed to a calibrated opening of its agricultural markets under an interim trade agreement with the United States. This means that India is choosing which products to open up, how much can be imported, and under what conditions.
The deal, announced on February 7, is being presented by the government as a carefully balanced move — but it has already triggered concern among farmer groups.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India will reduce or remove tariffs on select US food and agricultural products, including animal feed like DDGS and red sorghum, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, and wine and spirits.
The government says this is not a blanket opening. Goyal stressed that market access has been given only for products India already depends on imports for — particularly in the poultry sector. DDGS imports, he added, will be capped and allowed only to meet demand from the animal husbandry sector.
Farmer organisations, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, have criticised the deal as creating an unequal trade structure. They point out that while US tariffs on Indian goods have risen to 18 per cent, India is proposing to cut tariffs on several US agricultural products — earlier as high as 30 to 150 per cent — down to zero. They warn this could expose farmers to cheaper imports of maize, wheat, soybean oil, ethanol and GM products.
Farmer groups also raised concerns about the impact on fruit growers in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Northeast, and cautioned that subsidised US farm produce could flood Indian markets.
These warnings come amid a price crisis, with soybean prices nearly 26 per cent below MSP in October 2025, and maize prices about 24 per cent below MSP, raising fears of deeper farm losses.
Goyal, however, said no concessions have been given on sensitive products such as dairy, meat, poultry, GM crops, major cereals, millets, oilseeds, and several fruits and pulses. On concerns over the indirect entry of GM products through DDGS imports, he said the environment ministry has a regulatory process in place and argued that processing removes GM effects.
“In agriculture too, many products from India will now be exported to the United States at zero duty,” Goyal said, adding that items such as tea, spices, coffee, coconut oil, copra and vegetable wax will face no import tariffs in the US. Beyond agriculture, the deal includes major commitments on energy purchases, technology trade, aircraft, and data-centre equipment.
For now, the agreement promises expanded trade — but how its costs and benefits play out on Indian farms will be closely watched.

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Down to Earth is Science and Environment fortnightly published by the Society for Environmental Communication, New Delhi. We publish news and analysis on issues that deal with sustainable development, which we scan through the eyes of science and environment.