Industry Minister Piyush Goyal provides information on the India – US trade agreement

An agreement that does not harm Indian farmers

Piyush Goyal

New Delhi – The Interim Agreement between India and the U.S. will not include any item that would hurt Indian farmers, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, 7 February 2026, adding that there are several areas where Indian farmers and MSMEs have received duty-free entry into the U.S. market.

India and the U.S. early Saturday morning issued a joint statement in which they announced that the two countries had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement, and would continue working together towards a more comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement.

While U.S. President Donald Trump has already signed an executive order removing the 25% tariffs the U.S. had imposed on imports from India for its trade in Russian oil, Mr. Goyal said that another executive order is expected next week that would reduce the remaining 25% reciprocal tariff to 18%.

“We have not included any item where any Indian farmer will be hurt,” Mr. Goyal said at a press conference later in the day. “All sensitive items have been kept out of the deal. No genetically modified items will enter India, and no tariff relief has been given [to the U.S.] on meat, poultry, dairy, soybean, maize, rice, wheat, sugar, millets, fruits such as bananas, strawberries, cherries, citrus fruit, greenpea, kabuli chana, moong, oilseeds, ethanol, and tobacco.”

No concessions on duties for US agricultural and dairy products

Minister Piyush Goyal further said that all goods and products that Indian farmers produce, and in which India is self-reliant, are kept outside this agreement. India has not given any concessions on agricultural items imported from the United States. Genetically related products (such as insulin, immunological medicines, etc.) will not be imported into India. No duty exemption has been granted on meat imports. No concessions have been given in the poultry sector. No concessions apply to milk and dairy products imported from the United States. No concessions have been given to the US on soybean, maize, rice, sugar, bajra (pearl millet), jowar (sorghum), and other grains, Piyush Goyal clarified.

No concessions have been granted on the import of kabuli chana, moong, green tea, honey, starch, ethanol, tobacco, as well as bananas, strawberries, cherries, and citrus fruits. For all these products, along with other agricultural products, no duty exemption or concession will be available to US imports under this new trade agreement. I am declaring this here, Goyal added.