By Admin 
In America, President Donald Trump has indicated that he is considering imposing new tariffs on many agricultural products including rice coming from India. This statement has come at a time when efforts are being made to take the trade agreement between India and America forward again. The Trump administration believes that India and some other countries are ‘dumping cheap agricultural goods’ into the US market, causing losses to local farmers. This news can be a shock for those Indian farmers and exporters, for whom the US market has been the largest global buyer.
A major reason for stalling of trade deals is the dispute over agricultural imports.
The ongoing trade talks between India and America have been stuck for months and the main reason for this is the dispute over agricultural products. According to the Economic Times report, America wants India to give more space to dairy, meat, soya and agricultural products in its market, while India argues that this will have a deep impact on its small farmers. Due to this, the Trump government has already increased tariffs on many Indian products. Despite several rounds of talks between India and America, the trade agreement has not progressed. The biggest reason for this is disputes related to agriculture and food imports.
The things on which Trump is adamant-
Entry of GMO crops in India
America wants India to allow Genetically Modified (GMO) technology in crops like corn, soybean and wheat. But Indian scientists, farmers’ organizations and policy makers warn that this could lead to the extinction of local crop species, affect biodiversity and have serious health implications in the long run. That is why India still maintains a ban on GMO crops.
Import of American dairy products
America wants India to allow American milk, cheese, butter and ghee in its market. But India is the largest milk producing country in the world and more than 3 crore small farmers here are dependent on dairy. Apart from this, there is also a big religious and cultural objection – in America, enzymes made from animal bones are added to the food of cows. India considers it ‘non-veg milk’ and there is opposition to it on religious grounds also.
Demand to reduce import duty on agricultural products
America wants India to reduce taxes on agricultural products like wheat, rice, soybean, corn, apple and grapes, but India keeps high tariffs on these to protect its farmers so that Indian production is not affected by cheap imports.
India’s stance – no compromise with farmers and food security
Despite pressure from many countries including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and America, the Indian government is not in favor of changing its food security policy. Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, India provides free food grains to 80 crore people. The poverty rate in India was 27% in 2011-12. Which has reduced to 5.3% in 2022-23. Therefore, India argues that agricultural self-reliance and food security are part of the national policy and cannot be changed under foreign pressure.