External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks during an event of Asia Society in New Delhi on March 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: X/@DrSJaishankar via PTI
As farmers organisations threatened protests against U.S. and Indian trade negotiations underway in Delhi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) that concerns over allowing American agricultural products into the Indian market were known to them, and the negotiators should be trusted to ensure India’s “best interests.”
The Minister did not deny that market access for agricultural and dairy products is on the agenda for discussion on a bilateral trade agreement, which was reported by The Hindu on Tuesday (March 25, 2025). The farmer’s front, Samyukt Kisan Morcha, has said that they will hold protests demanding that the U.S. delegation “must go back.”
The Hindu had reported that U.S. negotiators were keen to discuss access and low tariffs for a range of American agricultural products, including corn, soybean, cotton, rice, pulses, and dairy products, which have long been a protected area in Indian imports.
Farmer’ meet
The issue was discussed at the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s coordination committee, which met virtually on Wednesday (March 26, 2025). “There is a consensus that on March 28, during the proposed protest against the Punjab Police’s atrocities against farmers at the Shambhu border, the issue of U.S. trade negotiations will also be taken up as a major issue,” said SKM leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan. Mr. Ugrahan said in Punjab, farmers’ unions will hold a protest on Thursday (March 27, 2025) demanding that the U.S. delegation must go back and the negotiations must be stopped in the best interests of farmers.
“The Union government is bending its knees in front of imperialism. It will have an unprecedented impact on Indian agriculture. Already, farmers are facing a crisis. Now, if the Centre allows the import of U.S. agriculture and dairy products without any barriers, this crisis will become worse. Any such step will be anti-national and anti-farmer. This government, which claims to be nationalist, should stop these negotiations if they are truly nationalist. Otherwise, we will be forced to call them pseudo-nationalists,” Mr. Ugrahan said in a statement.
‘Wait and see’
Speaking at a public event in Delhi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that issues over giving market access for agricultural products have been “noted” by the government, and it was necessary to trust Indian trade negotiators. “These are people who know our interests — We need to have confidence that they will negotiate what is the best possible deal for us. I wouldn’t judge, I would wait and see what happens in terms of the negotiations to reach an understanding with the United States,” he said, in response to a question at an event organised by the Asia Society, in conversation with former South Korean Foreign Minister and President of Asia Society Kyung Wha-Kang.
Defending the negotiations with the U.S. for a Bilateral Trade Agreement, Mr. Jaishankar said that there is a “sound business case” for the deal, and a different version was being negotiated with the first Trump administration (2016-2020), but had not been completed as the Trump government expected they would win the 2020 election and lost instead. “ A trade agreement with the U.S. is not new, what is new is the scale and urgency with which we are working on it now.” Mr. Jaishankar added.
Published – March 27, 2025 04:00 am IST
