Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday criticised the Union Government, alleging that it has betrayed Indian cotton farmers under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
The AAP leader alleged that the Centre has decided to remove the 11 per cent duty on the cotton coming from the US. Kejriwal mentioned that due to the 11 per cent duty on US cotton, the cotton of Indian farmers used to sell easily in the Indian market.
"In the last few days, Prime Minister Modi Ji has taken some decisions behind the back which are a betrayal to the farmers of the country. Right now 90 to 95 percent of the farmers do not know what has happened. When these decisions will come out, the farmers will have no choice but to commit suicide. Recently, Modi Ji has taken this decision under the pressure of Trump and America that till now 11 percent duty was imposed on the cotton which came from America, due to this, the cotton which came to India and which was grown by the farmers of India in India was cheaper than the cotton of America and the cotton of the farmers of India was sold in the markets of India," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference.
"Recently, the Modi government has taken a decision that the 11 percent duty which was imposed on the cotton coming from America has been removed. Now no duty will be imposed on the cotton coming from America. This duty has been removed for 40 days from 19 August to 30 September. Now the cotton that will come or will start coming from America is roughly 15 to 20 kg cheaper than the cotton of the farmers of the entire country. Where will the farmers of India go and how will they sell their cotton?," he added.
The former Delhi CM claimed that the cotton from the US is roughly Rs 15 to 20 cheaper than the cotton from Indian farmers. He said that the Union Government has removed the 11 percent duty on US cotton from August 19 to September 30.
"Now, no duty will be imposed on the cotton coming from America from 19 August to 30 September, for 40 days... Now, the cotton that will come or has started coming from America, is roughly cheaper in India than the cotton of Indian farmers by an average of Rs 15-20 per kg," he said.
The AAP convenor further stated that the Indian textile industry will buy the US cotton until September 30, and the cotton of the Indian farmers which comes into the market from October will have to be sold at cheap rates. He further called the step as a betrayal for the Indian farmers.
"Our farmers' cotton will start coming to the market from October. In the month of July, the farmers of the country have planted cotton, sowed seeds, they have sown their cotton by taking loans. Those farmers gave the money and that cotton will start coming to the market from October. By 30 September, the textile industry of the country would have bought cotton from America. They would have bought cheap cotton, they will not need the cotton of the farmers of the country and the cotton which will be expensive will also fulfill their needs. This is a betrayal with the farmers of our country," Kejriwal said.
Earlier today, to give relief to the textile sector from the US tariffs, the Central Government on Thursday announced to extend the exemption of import duty on cotton till December 31, 2025. The move is aimed at ensuring adequate availability of cotton for the domestic textile industry, according to a Ministry of Finance press release. It also stated that further notifications will follow.
The release noted, "To augment availability of cotton for the Indian textile sector, the Central Government had temporarily exempted the import duty on cotton from 19th August 2025 till 30th September 2025. In order to support exporters further, the Central Government has decided to extend the import duty exemption on cotton (HS 5201) from 30th September 2025 till 31st December 2025."
The government had earlier given temporary relief to the sector by exempting import duty on cotton between August 19, 2025 and September 30, 2025. Now, the exemption has been extended by another three months to support exporters and the textile sector.
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