DTN Ag Policy Blog
2/9/2026 | 12:09 PM CST
Dried distillers’ grain (DDGs) at an ethanol plant. The U.S.-India framework suggests larger get admission to for some U.S. agricultural products, even supposing Indian farmers are already protesting the deal. The nation’s commerce minister highlighted India desires extra DDGs to aid proceed to develop its farm animals change. (DTN file photo)
The U.S.-India bilateral change settlement has the capacity to grab some agricultural exports, even supposing India moreover is retaining a difficult line on others.
The U.S. Change Consultant’s Administrative middle has released just a few important aspects of the “framework for an Interim Agreement” because the take care of India changed into as soon as described.
USTR said, “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of U.S. food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.”
USTR moreover added, “Recognizing the importance of working together to resolve long-standing concerns, India also agrees to address long-standing non-tariff barriers to the trade in U.S. food and agricultural products.”
Despite having the arena’s most captivating population, India is most captivating the 15th most captivating export market for U.S. agriculture, per USDA, even supposing gross sales to the nation are rising.
The U.S. has viewed a snatch of agricultural exports to India over the final year. By November, the U.S. exported $2.7 billion in agricultural products to India, up 34% from 2024 export totals. India, thru November, exported $3.37 billion in agricultural products to the U.S., up merely 4% from a year earlier. That narrowed the agricultural change deficit from $1.3 billion all the model down to roughly $670 million.
The BBC reported an Indian farm community warned the deal might lead to farmer protests such as changes in farm regulations within the nation five or six years within the past. The farm community Samyukt Kisan Morcha, “United Farmers Front,” called for the resignation of the nation’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and requested High Minister Narendra Modi now to not ticket the deal, BBC said. Farm teams in India moreover admire called for a nationwide articulate on Feb. 12.
The brokerage home Systematix Research said the inclusion of agricultural and food objects for lowered tariffs might lead to “domestic backlash” since it will possibly well undercut domestic prices for corn, soybeans dairy and nuts, BBC reported.
BBC moreover reported India did now not provide any concessions on dairy, genetically modified products, meat or poultry.
Goyal said Sunday that peaceable sectors equivalent to agriculture and dairy were actual within the deal, per the Occasions of India. By distillers dried grains (DDGs), Goyal said Indian farmers’ considerations about imports are misplaced and that “India has only opened up a small window.” The article suggested India changed into as soon as opening up about 500,000 metric tons (mt) of DDG imports. Serene, Goyal said India has an mountainous ask for DDGs as a result of its rising farm animals and poultry sectors.
Goyal later said within the article that meat, poultry, rice, wheat, sugar, all dairy objects, all genetically modified products, soybeans and corn are actual. He suggested India would see extra imports of soybean oil, tree nuts, and original vegetables and fruit equivalent to apples. Goyal moreover said the settlement protects India’s exports of fish and seafood objects.
In diverse areas, India will decide to amass $500 billion of U.S. power products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology productions and coking coal over the following five years. The U.S. and India will work collectively on technology equivalent to files services and products.
The U.S. will decrease the 50% tariff on India and practice a reciprocal tariff rate of 18% on goods from India, even supposing the U.S. will take away tariffs on generic pharmaceuticals, obvious aircraft and aircraft parts from India. This aloof retains tariffs on Indian products vastly larger than the 3.3% charged sooner than Trump came into space of enterprise.
The deal comes now not up to a week after India signed a lengthy-awaited change take care of the European Union that’s expected to eradicate or minimize tariffs on 96.6% of traded goods by rate. That deal excludes EU soybeans, pork, sugar, rice and dairy from tariff reductions.
The Cato Institute when compared the deals signed by both the U.S. and the EU. Cato cited, “Although neither agreement’s full text has been published, the available details strongly suggest the EU emerged with a more liberalizing, durable, and economically sound agreement.”
Cato well-known, “In short, the EU negotiated a broad, institutionalized framework for market integration. The United States appears to have secured a set of partial concessions whose real-world impact remains uncertain.”
The EU eliminates tariffs on better than 90% of India’s major change products going into Europe. India eliminates tariffs on 93% of EU change rate. The EU might be allowed to export 250,000 autos into India with merely a 10% tariff, Cato cited.
Occasions of India article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/….
BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/….
Cato article: https://www.cato.org/….
Chris Clayton might also be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Be aware him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN
Chris Clayton might also be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Be aware him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN
