India says trade deal with US will not hurt its farmers

By Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - India will not compromise the interests of its farmers or stakeholders in a trade deal with the US and will have a strong advantage once the agreement is sealed, Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

New Delhi is nearly done finalising the first phase of a trade agreement with Washington as both sides try to overcome hurdles, triggering criticism from some Indian farmers who fear the deal is rushed and offers market access to many American agricultural products.

"I have the courage of conviction to announce boldly that the US trade deal, once details are out, the people of India will celebrate that not a single sensitive interest of our farmers or any stakeholder has been compromised," Goyal said at an event in New Delhi.

Earlier this month, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of more than 100 farm groups, said the deal put "farmers for sale" as it eliminated India’s high tariffs on agricultural products like maize, almonds, walnuts, apples and soybean oil, among others.

The two nations unveiled the deal’s framework in February, which brought down President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on most Indian goods, though they have not signed off on the pact yet.

Since then, farming groups have repeatedly urged the government to share more details of the agreement, fearing it would allow imports of subsidised US farm products that could depress domestic prices and hurt rural incomes.

The farm union will organise further demonstrations in November to protest against the deal and have it withdrawn, according to the SKM statement.