Allowing such heavily subsidised US imports into India would undermine our long-standing position at the WTO against these very subsidies, says ICCFM
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The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), a network of farmers’ organisations spread across the country, has asked the government not to get into any trade with the US that could be detrimental to farmers’ interests.
“We urgently request that you exclude all aspects of agriculture from this trade deal to protect the interests of Indian farmers, ensuring our food sovereignty and security, and safeguarding the vitality of our rural economy,” ICCFM stated in a letter addressed to Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
Concern over subsidies
The US government is among the world’s largest agricultural subsidisers, with the 2024 Farm Bill allocating $1.5 trillion for farm subsidies, the letter noted. These substantial subsidies not only restrict agricultural imports into the US but also enable American products to enter export markets at artificially low prices.
“Allowing such heavily subsidised US imports into India would undermine our long-standing position at the WTO against these very subsidies,” it said.
India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) under which the US is seeking market access across sectors, including agriculture and dairy.
India and the US are trying to reach an interim trade pact by August 1 to avoid US reciprocal tariffs of 26 per cent (of which 10 per cent has already been imposed) on all Indian goods exported to the country. The timeline for concluding the first tranche of a comprehensive BTA is Fall 2025 (September-October).
If the Indian government moves forward with trade deals that overlook critical issues affecting our farmers, movements like ours will be compelled to intensify our protests against such antifarmer policies, the letter cautioned.
“However, we are hopeful that the same sentiment that led India to wisely withdraw from the RCEP trade negotiations will prevail in this case as well. We earnestly urge you to ensure that no trade deal (not even an interim one) is negotiated or signed, now or in the future, that is detrimental to our farmers’ interests,” it said.
Published on July 16, 2025
