Farmers won’t have cause for complaint once India–US deal text is out, says Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal

India’s proposed trade agreement with the United States will not lead to a single complaint from farmers once the final text is made public, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on February 18, reiterating that sensitivities have been fully protected.

Goyal was speaking at the Global Economic Cooperation Summit in Mumbai.

“The final text has yet to be inked, so I do not want to pre-empt it,” Goyal said on interim trade deal between India and the US, which he described as the ninth major agreement by the country.

“But we have finalised all the sensitivities we have to protect. Farmers and MSMEs are fully protected,” he said.

Goyal added that India has “not opened dairy for any country whatsoever” in any of its free trade agreements (FTAs).

Developed economies such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and European nations typically insist that dairy be an integral part of trade deals. However, they have accepted India’s position due to New Delhi’s firm stance and transparent negotiations, he said.

“Our small dairy and marginal farmers cannot compete with the mechanised dairies of the developed world,” he said, adding that building trust with negotiating partners has enabled India to safeguard sensitive sectors while securing gains in “offensive interests.”

India’s dairy sector supports millions of small and marginal farmers, making it politically and economically sensitive in trade talks.

The United States and India have finalised the framework for an interim trade agreement, which is expected to be signed around March. Meanwhile, reciprocal duties are set to be reduced to 18 percent from the current 25 percent later this week.