'Offensive interest in farm exports': Piyush Goyal lays out what India did (and didn’t) concede to the US

Commerce minister says India pursued an “offensive interest” in farm exports while protecting dairy, staples and soy, dismissing fears over DDGS imports.

• India–US trade deal boosts farm exports while protecting sensitive sectors
• US opens market at zero tariffs for Indian tea, coffee, spices, and fruits
• Sensitive items like dairy, soybeans, and staples excluded from concessions

Did our AI summary help?

The government has pursued an 'offensive interest' in farm exports while firmly protecting sensitive sectors such as dairy, staples and soybeans in the India–US trade deal, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, as farmer bodies plan protests over the agreement.

“We have $30-odd billion of imports. The important thing is that we have $55 billion of exports of farm and fish products. So, we should have an offensive interest, which is what we have focused on simultaneously along with protecting the sensitive sectors,” Goyal told Times of India in an interview.

Under the deal, the US has opened its market at zero reciprocal tariffs for several Indian products, including tea, coffee, spices and fruits. At the same time, seafood exporters gain from a reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 18 percent. The government sees this as an opportunity to expand India’s agri and marine exports rather than a threat to domestic producers.

Goyal also sought to allay concerns around imports of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a feed ingredient used in animal husbandry. He said fears were misplaced and India had opened only a limited window. Officials cited by The Times of India said that against domestic animal feed consumption of about 500 lakh tonnes, the quota offered to the US is just five lakh tonnes.

The demand for DDGS, Goyal said, came from the industry itself, driven by a rising livestock population and increasing feed requirements, amid shrinking arable land. “As a govt, I have to balance all interests. But I can assure you we have protected soybeans,” he said, adding that India already imports about $5 billion of soybean oil annually.

Addressing farmer protests called for February 12, the minister said agricultural sensitivities had been fully protected. He listed sectors excluded from concessions, including meat, poultry, rice, wheat, sugar, dairy products, genetically modified crops, soybeans and corn. “There’s hardly any item where any farmer can feel threatened,” he told Times of India.

Goyal argued that trade competitiveness and comparative advantage were central to the agreement. “Trade is all about competition, comparative advantage. Now, we have the best comparative advantage. It’s for our businesses, our exporters to get the best and make the best of this wonderful deal,” he said.

On non-tariff barriers, Goyal said neither India nor the US maintains such barriers and both sides have agreed to resolve any inadvertent frictions to speed up the benefits of the agreement. “We’ve done that in every agreement. India is now emerging as a high-quality producer of goods and provider of services. So, we have nothing to fear,” he said.

The minister also indicated that the current arrangement is only the first tranche of the trade pact. “We will first convert this into a proper agreement and legally binding agreement and thereafter we will continue to see other areas to expand trade and mutual cooperation,” he told Times of India, signalling that services and other sectors could feature in future negotiations.