'Will export more American farm products': US agri secretary signals new access to India's market

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday suggested that American farm products have gained fresh market access in India under the new India-US trade deal. She called the deal as a win for US farmers and said the agreement would help cut the agricultural trade deficit with India.

"Thank you @POTUS for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America," the secretary wrote on X.

"In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $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," she added. 

Agriculture and dairy remain the most closely watched parts of the India-US trade deal, whose full details are yet to be made public. These two sectors were the primary issues causing the months-long deadlock in India-US trade negotiations. India had refused US demands for greater market access in dairy and agriculture, describing them as "red lines" given the need to protect over 80 million smallholder farmers and rural livelihoods.

Concerns also included the nature of US dairy production, including products from cows fed animal-based feeds, which runs into Indian cultural and religious sensitivities, along with resistance to genetically modified crops. These sectors support nearly half of India’s population, despite contributing about 16% of GDP, making them a high-stakes political issue, especially ahead of state elections.

Trump, while announcing the deal on Truth Social, had also pointed to agriculture as part of India's expanded purchase commitments from the US. "The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products," Trump said.

Reuters on Tuesday reported that India has offered market access for some agricultural products as part of its commitments under the deal. The report noted that India had recently offered select market access for agricultural products to the European Union as well under a trade agreement.

However, government sources told India Today that farmers' interests remain protected under the India-US trade agreement. Sources also said the dairy sector would continue to be safeguarded, and there has been no compromise on key protections as part of the negotiations.