Indian farmers and labor unions have been protesting across the country, denouncing the framework for an interim India-U.S. trade agreement reached last week which they say is a threat to their livelihoods.
In a joint statement released on Saturday, India and the United States said they reached a framework for an interim agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.
The U.S. side would apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 percent on Indian-origin goods, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products, and certain machinery, according to the joint statement.
The joint statement said that the two sides will promptly implement this framework and work towards finalizing the interim agreement.
Farmers in India warned that opening the door to American enterprises risks pushing India's already struggling agriculture sector deeper into crisis.
"Now the latest trade deal with America that is going to further push us into a much more acute crisis. So against that, it is a fight for our survival. And we will go to any extent to ensure that it is successful - our struggle is successful," said Vijoo Krishnan, a farmer leader in India.
Labour unions joined the farmers' protests, calling the deal a direct threat not just to the agriculture and dairy sectors but also to other workers.
"There are a huge number of complexities they have created in the labor conciliation mechanism. And, if you see Indian workers, more than 94.5 percent of workers are in the unorganized sector," said Sudeep Dutta, a labor leader.
According to the trade deal, Indian markets will be opened to U.S. agricultural products, benefiting American farmers. The deal calls for India to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of U.S. food and agricultural products.
"It's an extremely undesirable kind of framework that we have got into. If you go by the numbers and what our total exports and imports were globally and from the U.S., it just seems heavily loaded in favor of the U.S., and something which, in fact, might get worse if indeed these possibilities materialize," said Praveen Jha, an expert in India's agricultural economy.
Nearly 80 percent of Indian farmers are smallholders, owning two hectares of land or less, which limits their income. But they form an influential voting bloc, and political parties cannot afford to anger them.
Indian farmers protest framework for interim India-US trade deal
