New Delhi: Even as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has safeguarded ag- riculture and dairy in the finalised India–US trade deal, remarks by US Secre- tary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on increased American farm exports to India have triggered alarm among farmer unions, which have announced a nationwide agitation from February 4 to 11.
The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said crops likely to be immediately impacted by the deal include soybean, maize, cotton and dairy, warning that the livelihoods of crores of farmers could be jeopardised. Goyal, reiterating that India had secured the “best possible” trade agreement under Modi’s leadership, said on Tuesday that the Prime Minister had ensured protection for sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy. However, Rollins’ comments on social media have heightened concerns among farm groups.
Thanking US President Donald Trump for “once again delivering for American farmers,” Rollins said the new India–US deal would export more American farm products to India’s “massive market,” lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. She described India’s growing population as a key market for US agricultural products and said the deal would help reduce America’s agricultural trade deficit with India.
“In 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was USD 1.3 billion. India’s growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today’s deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit,” Rollins said in a post on X.
Strongly condemning what it termed a “betrayal of farmers,” the SKM accused the Modi government of allowing zero per cent import tariffs on US agricultural goods and “surrendering to US imperialist pressure.” Recalling Modi’s Independence Day speech, in which he said he was willing to pay a heavy price to protect farmers’ interests, the Morcha alleged that he was now “bowing to the dictates” of President Trump.
The SKM warned that the influx of heavily subsidised US farm products would devastate small and marginal farmers across India. It highlighted the disparity between the two countries, noting that the US has around 18.8 lakh farmers, compared with 14.65 crore operational holdings in India, where nearly half the workforce depends on agriculture and allied sectors.
The farmers’ body announced that effigies of both Modi and Trump would be burnt during village-level protests from February 4 to 11. It also said it would support the all-India general strike on February 12, called by central trade unions, with protests planned at tehsil and urban centres nationwide.
The February 12 strike has been called by the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of India (CFTUI), with support from agricultural, rural and informal workers’ unions, against what they describe as the dismantling of MNREGA and its replacement by the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G) Bill, 2025.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the SKM, a coalition of over 40 farmers’ unions, cited Rollins’ remarks to argue that while the US administration was protecting its rural economy, India’s rural sector stood to suffer. The Morcha reiterated that soybean, maize, cotton and dairy would be among the first sectors hit by the deal, placing millions of farmers’ livelihoods at risk.
