Nuremberg: Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India has always negotiated with a “clear mindset” on sectors that are “very” sensitive for the country in trade pacts and has protected all those key segments under the interim trade agreement with the US, PTI reported.
He also said that both teams are working to convert the joint statement into a legal agreement, which is expected to be finalised and signed before the end of March. “India has always negotiated all agreements with a clear mindset, anything that is very sensitive to India, anything where we feel our farmers, fishermen, dairy, they are going to be impacted, we have been very clear to our partner countries that India can not open up or provide access,” he told reporters here.
“If you look at all the agreements that we have done in the last year, five trade agreements that we did — all the sensitive sectors have been protected. In the US, all the key sensitive sectors have been protected. Wherever there is a little sensitivity, we have used tariff rate quota mechanisms to ensure that any market access is limited in nature and it doesn’t impact our farmers,” he added.
Under the interim trade pact, which was announced earlier this month, India has fully protected sensitive agricultural and dairy products such as maize, wheat, rice, soya, poultry, milk, cheese, ethanol (fuel), tobacco, certain vegetables and meat, as no duty concessions have been granted to the US on these goods under the pact.
These goods are sensitive as it involves the livelihood of small and marginal farmers of the country. In other Free Trade Agreements (FTA), India has not extended any import duty concessions on sensitive agri and dairy products. It has recently finalised FTAs with the European Union, the UK and Australia.
The US agri exports to India were USD 1.6 billion in 2024. Key exports include Almonds (in shell, USD 868 million); Pistachios (USD 121 million), Apples (USD 21 million), Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, USD 266 million).
The commerce secretary is here for the Biofach 2026 show, where over 100 Indian exhibitors and about 20 states are showcasing their organic products. The European Union (EU) is a big market for these goods. “The teams are working on it, and by March, we are hopeful to make it (interim trade pact with the US) official,” Agrawal said.
