Wednesday, February 11, 2026

India-US Trade Agreement will fuel Agrarian Crisis - Kishore Tiwari

India-US Trade Agreement will fuel Agrarian Crisis - Kishore Tiwari

Date-11 Feb 2026

The white  office has issued an interim draft for the US-India trade agreement, which will adversely affect about 12 million farmers in suicide-hit Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra in Maharashtra. the claim Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal that the interests of farmers are protected by the US-India trade agreement has termed to be hoax , and will lead to a fall in the prices of cotton, soybean and other oilseeds. Kishore Tiwari, an activist working among cotton farmers in Vidarbha, has expressed his fear.

Duty-free cotton import agreement will increase suicides of cotton farmers in Maharashtra

The proposed trade have allowed the duty free import of long staple cotton produced from US will adversly effect the 12 million cototn farmers  in Vidarbha Marathwada.India currently imposes an 11% duty on cotton imports and will fuel  ongoing  agricultural crisis, Kishor Tiwari has demanded a ban on duty free cotton imports, citing concerns that allowing duty-free imports from the US, the world's largest cototn fiber exporter, could put pressure on domestic prices.

Duty-free import of Soybean oil from the US is against interest of Oilseed Producers in Maharashtra

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are major cotton seed ,soybean and groundnut oilseed producing states, but productivity in these states is significantly lower than in the US and farmers who are already struggling due to palm oil imports will be in trouble due to this agreement. If oil imports from the US increase, domestic oilseed processing industries and soybean producers will suffer losses, so it is time for the US and India to cancel the trade agreement.

Duty free  import of Ethylene-containing Distillers' Dry Grain Solubles (DDGS) is Unwarnted 

The supply of Ethylene-containing Distillers' Dry Grain Solubles (DDGS) in the country is needless as Ethanol producers in India - already struggling with idle capacity and demand declining after the country reached its 20% biofuel blend target - may get less income from selling DDGS in the domestic market.US and India India has put aside the interests of farmers in the trade deal with the US because India already has a surplus supply of DDGS, and duty free import of  soyabean oil will act adversly to india's  oilseed cultivation and implemented a program to curb edibal oil imports, Kishor Tiwari has demanded to scrap US and India  trade deal.

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