Mahapanchayat has been announced at Kisan Ghat in Delhi. Before this, Delhi, Jalandhar and Jammu National Highways have been completely sealed. Farmers have been stopped from marching to Delhi at the Shambhu border. A large number of police forces have been deployed here. Farmers and social organizations from many other states of the country including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh have called a Mahapanchayat to protest against the India-US trade deal. Farmer leaders have protested against stopping the farmers marching to Delhi from different places.
Let us tell you that farmers have been opposing the India-America trade deal and FTA for a long time. Actually, farmers are protesting against the interim agreement which India has signed with America. Farmers say that these agreements will have a negative impact on Indian agriculture and farmers. At the same time, the government says that it has kept sensitive agricultural items out of this deal, so farmers will not suffer any loss. But farmers’ organizations say that the government has compromised the interests of the farmers.
#WATCH Today, a large number of farmers reached Shambhu Border (Punjab-Haryana Border) before their scheduled march towards Delhi. The video is from Patiala (Punjab). pic.twitter.com/OWxjTRNj4v
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) July 21, 2026
What are farmers afraid of from the deal?
Farmers fear that very cheap and heavily subsidized products from America will enter the Indian market. Due to this, the prices here will fall and the income of farmers in the villages will decrease. On the other hand, the government claims that security measures have been kept in the deal, so there is no need for farmers to worry. Last month, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had protested heavily against the trade deal. During this period, effigies of PM Modi and US President Donald Trump were also burnt.
Impact on small farmers and dairy sector
Farmer organizations say that the agreement is being made in secret, no consultation was taken with the farmers or stakeholders. In this entire matter, National President of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Dr. Ashok Dhawale has strongly criticized the India-America trade deal. He has said that in this the duty on American agricultural and dairy products has been reduced.
The earlier tariff on these products, which ranged from 35 to 150 percent, has been reduced to 0 percent. He also said that along with import duties, other taxes for US imports have also been completely eliminated. Dhawale also emphasized that Indian farmers have small land holdings and receive much less government assistance compared to the high subsidies given to farmers in the US and EU.
He said flooding the market with zero-tariff American goods would lead to displacement of domestic farmers and weaken India’s domestic food production capacity. He called this agreement a betrayal of Indian agricultural interests. Instead of protecting the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers, the government’s policy is endangering the interests of Indian farmers by sacrificing the interests of American agribusinesses.
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