Up in arms against India-US deal, farmer bodies flag agri concerns, seek fine print

While Goyal has said both sides are working to complete the technical processes of the deal, which will soon be announced, some top farm bodies have come out against it.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of several farmer unions, has denounced the India-US trade deal, accusing the Narendra Modi government of “surrendering before imperialism”, alleging that the deal will “destroy Indian farmers by flooding the market with American agricultural produce”. The SKM has announced a strike on February 12 involving mass protests to oppose the agriculture-related terms of the deal.

In a statement, the SKM said it “strongly condemns the betrayal of the people, especially farmers, by the Modi government, allowing zero per cent import tariffs on US goods, surrendering to the pressure of US imperialism”.

Recalling that the PM had on Independence Day in 2025, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, declared that “he is personally ready to pay heavy price to protect the interests of the farmers”, the SKM alleged Modi was now “bowing down to the diktats of US President Donald Trump for zero import tax to allow free flow of US agricultural products into the Indian market,” adding that farmers would not forgive his government for this “historic betrayal”.

The SKM’s statement, calling for a nationwide campaign in villages against the Centre during February 4-11 and a protest on February 12, came even as Goyal defended the trade deal – which will ensure reduction of US tariffs on India from 50% to 18% – in Parliament Wednesday.

“I want to stress that this is less than the tariffs imposed by America on several competing nations; it will increase India’s competitiveness in terms of its exports to the American market. This deal will benefit India’s exporters, especially those engaged in labour-intensive sectors…I want to repeat to this hallowed House that Bharat’s priority sensitivity in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors has been kept in mind,” Goyal told the Lok Sabha, adding that “the Indian side has been successful in safeguarding interests related to sensitive sectors, especially agriculture and dairy”.

The SKM, which had been at the forefront of the 2020-21 protests against the three now-scrapped central farm laws, is not alone among farmers’ organisations opposed to this trade deal. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) said it will join the SKM’s proposed agitations from February 4 to demand that the Centre present the details of this deal, apart from the India-United Kingdom and India-European Union free trade agreements, in the Parliament and discuss it with the state governments. “The AIKS strongly opposes the India-US trade deal. This is nothing but a surrender to the threats that came from the US President,” AIKS president Ashok Dhawale said in a statement.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said demonstrations will be held on February 12 at all district headquarters and memoranda will be sent to the government with the demand of excluding the agriculture and dairy sectors from the deal.

“If this deal goes ahead, the US will capture the agriculture and dairy markets of India and it will harm the farmers here. Farmers in the US are getting more subsidies than farmers in India. How will Indian farmers compete with US companies? The general public will also suffer here because US firms will initially sell their produce at lower prices but will escalate the prices after capturing Indian agriculture and dairy sectors,” Tikait said.

The RSS’s farmer wing, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), said it was against any international deal that may “adversely impact the Indian farmers”. “The BKS is firm on its stand. But we will comment on the India-US deal only after getting clarity on it. There is no clarity so far that a deal has happened on these sectors (agriculture and dairy) or not,” said Raghvendra Singh Patel, BKS national spokesperson.