Agricultural Safeguards in India–US Interim Trade Agreement | 10 Feb 2026

Source: IE 

Why in News?  

India and the US have issued a joint statement announcing a framework for an Interim Trade Agreement, following the US decision to cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18%.  

• It is seen as a precursor to a full Bilateral Trade Agreement, the framework gives India preferential access to the USD 30-trillion US market. It aims to expand bilateral trade while protecting Indian farmers and other sensitive sectors, even as it selectively opens India’s animal feed market to the US. 

How are Indian Farmers Protected under the India - US Interim Trade Agreement? 

• Excluded Items: India maintains a trade surplus of USD 1.3 billion in agricultural trade with the US, with exports of USD 3.4 billion and imports of USD 2.1 billion in 2024. 
  • The US will apply zero additional duty on Indian exports worth USD 1.36 billion.  
  • Additionally, a strict "negative list" has been maintained. No tariff relief has been granted to the US on sensitive agricultural products including: 
    • Meat, poultry, and dairy. 
    • Staple grains (wheat, rice, maize, millets). 
    • Fruits and vegetables (bananas, strawberries, cherries, citrus, green peas). 
    • Other commodities like soybean, sugar, oilseeds, ethanol, and tobacco. 
• GM Ban Continues: India has firmly refused to open its doors to Genetically Modified (GM) items, specifically blocking American GM corn and soybean. 
• Boost to Indian Farmers: India has secured duty-free entry into the US market for several sectors, with duties dropping from 50% to 0% in many cases. 
  • Agriculture Exports: Zero-duty access has been granted for Indian spices, tea, coffee, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, and coconuts (including oil and copra). 
  • Fruits and Vegetables: Exports of mangoes, guavas, papayas, avocados, bananas, and mushrooms will benefit from tariff elimination. 
  • Processed Goods: Select processed foods and cereals like barley will also enter duty-free, encouraging value addition within India before export. 
• Animal Feed Market: With India's domestic production of maize and soybean unable to keep pace with the rising demand from the poultry and livestock sectors, the deal opens specific windows for feed imports without compromising the ban on GM grains. 
  • The US can now export Sorghum (Red Sorghum)  to India. It is seen as a vital non-GM alternative to corn for the Indian poultry industry. 
  • Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is a by-product of ethanol production. Although it may be derived from GM corn, India is allowing it only as a processed feed input. 
    • It supports the protein requirements of livestock and poultry without opening the door to GM grains. 

Calibrated Market Opening with Strong Safeguards 

• For items that were opened, India used safeguards to prevent dumping: 
  • Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs): Applied to items like apples and almonds, where only a specific quantity can be imported at lower rates. 
  • Phased Rollouts: Some tariffs will be reduced over a period (up to 10 years) to allow domestic industries to adjust. 
  • Minimum Import Price (MIP): Imposed on wines and spirits to ensure only high-value premium products enter, protecting the domestic mass-market industry.