Goyal: Agriculture, Fertilisers, Dairy Sectors Protected in Trade Pact With US

New Delhi: Amid protests by Opposition members, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that India had protected its “sensitive” agriculture and dairy sectors in the bilateral trade pact with the United States announced earlier this week.

Responding to concerns raised in the House, Goyal said India’s “core sensitivities in food and agriculture had been fully safeguarded” in the agreement, under which American tariffs on Indian exports have been reduced to 18 per cent.

Addressing speculation over oil imports from Russia following remarks by US President Donald Trump, the commerce minister said India was “diversifying” its oil sources in line with “market dynamics”. He said the government’s priority was to ensure energy security for 140 crore Indians and urged members to view the issue in its “proper perspective”.

Goyal said both sides had succeeded in giving “final shape” to the trade negotiations and would now work towards completing the text of the agreement and the required procedures and paperwork so that benefits could be realised at the earliest. He added that the “detailed contours” of the pact would be announced after the process was completed.

Stating that the trade pact was in the “national interest”, the minister said it would help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “developed and self-reliant” India.

He said India and the United States had been in consultations on the agreement since Modi’s visit to the US a year ago, and noted that both countries had sought to protect sensitive sectors during the talks. Agriculture, fertilisers and dairy, he said, were among India’s sensitive sectors, adding that these had been protected in the negotiations.

Goyal pointed out that the reduction of American tariffs to 18 per cent, already announced by Trump, was lower than tariffs imposed on several other countries, improving the competitiveness of Indian exports in the US market. He said the agreement would improve access to technology and support initiatives such as “Make in India, Design in India and Innovate in India”.

The minister said labour-intensive sectors, MSMEs and industry would benefit from the pact, which he described as a “historic agreement” that would strengthen India-US ties. He also said the two economies were largely complementary and that India needed to expand capacities in areas such as aviation, energy, data and civil nuclear power, where the US was a global leader.

Later, outside Parliament, Goyal said on X that he had intended to make a statement in the Lok Sabha but was prevented from doing so due to disruptions. He subsequently released a video of his full statement on the platform.