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India has agreed to a “calibrated” opening of markets for select agricultural products in its interim trade agreement with the United States (US) announced on February 7, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, while giving out details of the deal.
According to the key terms of the agreement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) and red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
The minister, in his over one-hour long press conference, said the agreement allowed calibrated market access for select feed products that India currently depended on imports for, particularly in the poultry sector.
“In a calibrated manner, the market has been opened for items that are currently import-dependent. DDGS will be imported in limited quantities, based on the demand raised by the animal husbandry sector. Only the required quantity will be allowed, which will benefit poultry farmers,” he said.
However, farmer organisations have expressed concern over the agreement’s potential impact on prices of maize, jowar, soybean and other crops used for animal feed and fodder. They also argued that reduced tariffs on imports of soybean oil could further depress domestic soybean prices. Since last year, soybean farmers — especially in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan — have been facing a prolonged price crisis.
“The all-India weighted average market price of soybean in October 2025 stood at Rs 3,942, nearly 26 per cent below the MSP of Rs 5,328. Similarly, maize prices in October and November 2025 averaged Rs 1,821, about 24 per cent lower than the MSP of Rs 2,400. Despite the Government of India’s assurances on soybean procurement, the actual procurement has been abysmal, pushing farmers into heavy losses. The India-US trade deal will worsen the situation. We question how the government plans to uphold its commitment to Minimum Support Price for Indian farmers,” said the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj).
Meanwhile, the minister assured that there was no compromise or concession on sensitive sectors like dairy and that the government has sought to protect products in which Indian farmers have adequate domestic production capacity from tariff concessions.
“Sensitive products, which farmers produce in sufficient quantities, have not been given any concessions and have been excluded from the agreement. These include genetically modified (GM) products, meat, poultry, dairy, soybean, maize, rice, wheat, sugar, millets, fruits such as banana, strawberry, cherries and citrus fruits, green pea, chickpea, moong, and oilseeds,” Goyal said.
But on a question over the indirect entry of GM products through DDGS imports (in US, DDGS is made from GM corn) Goyal said the environment ministry has an established regulatory process in place. He argued that once a GM item is processed, the effects are no longer there.
However, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) own guidelines on imports requires that any import of food products related to 24 enumerated crops should be accompanied by a non-GM origin cum GM-free certificate.
The US has repeatedly raised concerns over India’s restrictions on GM products, which it calls “non-tariff barriers”, arguing that the country’s regulatory framework limits market access for US agricultural exports.
Incidentally, the joint statement has mentioned the two countries addressing long-standing “non-tariff barriers” to the trade in US food and agricultural products
Meanwhile, there is still not full clarity on the total list of products as the joint statement used the term “additional products” on which tariff will be eliminated or reduced.
In terms of India’s export to the US, the agreement will provide Indian exporters zero-duty access to the US market for several agricultural and plantation products, including spices, tea, coffee, copra, coconut oil, vegetable wax, areca nut, cashew nut, chestnut, and a range of fruits and vegetables.
The agreement also stated that India intended to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years. India and the United States will significantly increase trade in technology products, including Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and other goods used in data centres, and expand joint technology cooperation.
Overall, as per the interim agreement, the US will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 per cent on originating goods of India, including textile and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, home décor, artisanal products, and certain machinery, and will remove the reciprocal tariff on a wide range of goods including generic pharmaceuticals, gems and diamonds, and aircraft parts.