India rejects claims of farm, dairy market access in India-US trade deal, says farmers’ interests remain fully protected. Photo: ANI.
The India-US trade agreement finalised between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not compromise the interests of Indian farmers, the government has said, firmly rejecting concerns around agriculture and dairy market access.
According to reports, India has made it clear that its position on farm and dairy products remains unchanged and that the interests of Indian farmers will not be sacrificed at any stage of the negotiations.
Reports quoting officials said there would be no agreement covering Indian agricultural or dairy products under the trade deal.
“The government is firm on its stand. The interests of Indian farmers, past, present and future, remain fully protected, and there will be no compromise,” reports cite official sources.
The government clarification comes amid earlier reports claiming that India had offered market access for certain agricultural products as part of its commitments under the deal.
India had recently extended selective market access for agricultural products to the European Union under a separate trade agreement, which led to speculation that similar concessions may have been made to the United States. However, official sources have denied any such compromise in the India–US agreement.
However, the United States has publicly projected the deal as a major win for its agricultural sector. In an X post, the US Agriculture Secretary thanked President Trump for the agreement, stating that it would “export more American farm products to India’s massive market… pumping cash into rural America.”
This statement has been widely interpreted as confirmation that Washington views the deal as a mechanism to reduce or eliminate its $1.3 billion agricultural trade deficit with India.
On Monday, following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Donald Trump announced that India and the US had agreed to a trade deal under which Washington would reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. The 25% penality tariff connected to the Russian oil purchase has been completely waived.
The agreement comes nearly a year after India-US relations witnessed one of their sharpest downturns in decades.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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