Indian farmers protest India‑US trade deal over fears of cheap imports

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other northern Indian states have launched a large‑scale agitation against the proposed India‑US free‑trade agreement. They claim that reduced tariffs on US agricultural products such as dairy, poultry, grain and soybean oil would flood the domestic market with heavily subsidised imports, depress farm prices and threaten their livelihoods. Protesters have marched toward Delhi, gathering at the Shambhu border where Haryana police sealed the crossing, and plan to hold a Mahapanchayat at Kisan Ghat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking with parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, reiterated that the government will safeguard farmers’ interests and that no free‑trade pact will compromise their welfare. The Union government maintains that sensitive agricultural sectors remain protected in negotiations, while farmer groups like Desh Bachao Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha continue to demand that the trade deal be halted or amended to prevent a flood of cheap US imports.