India–US Trade Deal Criticised as Costly for Farmers

Several farmer groups and political critics have slammed the recently announced India–US trade pact, warning that it could be detrimental to India’s farm economy if agricultural and dairy products are included in the liberalised market access framework — a fear echoed from earlier trade negotiations. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and other unions have stated that even the perception of opening agricultural or dairy imports could trigger protests on the scale of the 2020-21 farmer movements, saying that such concessions would undermine millions of rural livelihoods.

Opposition voices, including from parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party, have also argued that zero tariffs on U.S. imports — while Indian exports reportedly face reduced but still positive tariffs — would disadvantage Indian producers and erode domestic value chains. Critics contend that this imbalance would disproportionately benefit highly subsidised U.S. agriculture over India’s smallholder farmers, though government sources insist that sensitive sectors including agriculture and dairy have been protected in the deal framework.

Farm unions’ warnings reflect longstanding concerns that opening India’s markets to heavily subsidised American farm products, including grains and dairy, could flood domestic markets with cheap imports and depress local prices, harming incomes in a sector that supports hundreds of millions of people. These debates continue even as officials maintain that tariff and non-tariff protections will remain in place for core agricultural and dairy segments.

Source : Dairynews7x7 Feb 6th 2026 Read full story here