As trade negotiations between India and the United States reach a critical juncture, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made it clear that New Delhi will not compromise on core interests. “‘Nation first’ is our moolmantra. No negotiations will take place under pressure. Negotiations will be done keeping the interests of farmers in mind. India will not come under any kind of pressure,” Chouhan said on Sunday.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also underscored this stance, saying India refuses to be rushed into trade deals. “An FTA should be a win-win. India never negotiates trade deals based on deadlines. Our focus is always on fairness and what benefits the country,” he told reporters on Friday. Goyal added that negotiations are ongoing with multiple global partners, including the US and EU. He also clarified that there are no immediate plans to visit Washington D.C. as Parliament session will commence soon.
Talks between the two countries are intensifying as they near the July 9 deadline for finalising a suspended 26% reciprocal tariff regime. A high-level Indian delegation was recently in Washington for discussions on an interim trade pact. The US has been pushing for tariff concessions on industrial goods, EVs, wines, petrochemicals, dairy, and farm produce including apples and tree nuts. In contrast, India has prioritised duty relief on textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, shrimp, bananas, grapes and other labour-intensive exports.
However, the sticking points remain agricultural and dairy concessions. These sectors are politically sensitive and economically vital to India’s rural population. India has never opened its dairy sector in any prior trade pact, and with most Indian farmers engaged in small-scale sustenance farming, the government is unwilling to risk undercutting them with subsidised US imports.
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) recently said that the US products like rice, dairy, poultry, and GM soy benefit from deep subsidies and it gives them an unfair advantage over Indian producers. It added that any commitment to permanently lower farm tariffs under the India-US free trade agreement would be irreversible and strategically unwise.
“Tariff cuts on US farm goods could undermine India’s food security by exposing small farmers to cheap, subsidised imports and global price volatility,” said GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava. “India must retain tariff flexibility to protect over 700 million rural livelihoods and avoid repeating past mistakes made under global trade deals.”
