Kisan Sabha threatens militant resistance over India-US trade deal

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Wednesday warned the Narendra Modi government of ‘militant resistance’ from farmers if it proceeds with the proposed India-US trade deal, alleging that concessions to Washington would threaten domestic agriculture and lead to greater corporate consolidation in the sector.

In a statement, the farmers' body argued that Indian producers cannot compete with ‘heavily subsidised’ American agricultural producers, especially in soybean and dairy. It said the government had kept Parliament in the dark about the deal's details even as negotiations appeared to be nearing completion. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the two countries are ‘pretty close’ to a deal, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it ‘very close’ and the demand to sell US milk products in India emerging as the last hurdle, according to the AIKS.

The organisation also criticised the government's September decision to reduce the basic import duty on crude soybean oil and palm oil from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, calling it detrimental to farmers. It appealed to farmers to join the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's march in Delhi on 23 October against what it described as the manipulation of elections.