India-US trade talks begin amid farmers’ concerns over agriculture market

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday began two days of talks to advance negotiations on an interim trade deal, amid concerns from some farmer groups over Washington’s demands, which they fear could undermine India’s agricultural interests.

“The US remains focussed on securing a fair, reciprocal trade deal that opens markets for American exporters and delivers benefits to both nations,” the US Embassy to India posted on social media platform X reinforcing Washington’s long-standing push for lower tariffs and greater market access for American goods, including agricultural products, in India.

While Goyal has maintained that India’s sensitive farm sectors are being fully protected in the negotiations, farmer groups remain apprehensive as the bilateral trade framework announced in February identified agriculture as a key area for deeper market access. Their concerns have been reinforced by repeated references from US officials to securing greater access for American farm products in the Indian market, raising fears that any tariff concession could adversely affect domestic producers.

“The India-US joint statement of February 7 states that India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on US industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural products, including DDGs, red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine, and spirits… Allowing imports of heavily subsidised US agricultural products will destroy domestic production in affected sectors,” KV Biju, National Coordinator, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, said in a letter this week to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also marked to Goyal. The letter has been co-sponsored by over 40 farmers’ and fishers’ organisation from across the country.

The biggest concern is US agricultural subsidies, the letter noted. “The US Farm Bill allocated $956 billion in 2014 and $1.5 trillion in 2024. According to the OECD (2024), the Producer Support Estimate (PSE) is +7.1 per cent in the United States, while Indian farmers face a negative PSE of –14.5 per cent, effectively amounting to implicit taxation,” it said.

In a separate letter to the PM, the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association reminded him of his “repeated assurance” that in the India US trade negotiations the interests of India’s farmers, fishermen, and those involved in dairy and poultry would be fully protected. “The India US joint statement issued on February 6 about the interim agreement does not provide us much hope that the interests of India’s farmers would be fully protected. We urge you to stand by your promise and not buckle under US pressure to sign the interim agreement which compromises India’s agriculture,” it said.

India seems to have agreed to addressing long-standing barriers to US exports of agriculture and food products, pointed out the Bhartiya Kisan Union, in its petition to Modi. “This could facilitate imports of highly subsidised dairy and poultry products, and also provide a backdoor entry to genetically modified maize into India,” it said.