India will never compromise on farmers' interests: PM Modi's veiled salvo at Trump amid tariff impasse

New Delhi: A day after the United States announced the imposition of additional 25% tariffs on Indian goods, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday drew a red line on Indo-US trade talks by indicating that agriculture and allied sectors were complete no-go areas in future tariff negotiations.

“For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, dairy farmers, fishermen, and livestock keepers," Modi said while addressing an event in Delhi to mark the birth centenary of late agri-scientist M S Swaminathan, the architect of India's Green Revolution.

“I know, personally, I will have to pay a heavy price for this,” Modi added in what is being seen as a veiled response to the US’s brinkmanship on trade negotiations.

The White House on Wednesday doubled tariffs on India from 25% to 50%, citing matters of national security and relevant trade laws. The initial 25% duty would come into effect from August 7, while the additional 25% “Russian penalty” on all Indian goods imported into the US is slated to kick in after three weeks.

In his recent diatribe against India, US President Donald Trump has claimed India's imports of Russian oil pose a "threat" to the United States and sustain Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine.

The Indo-US trade deal has been stuck over the US insistence on greater access to India's agricultural and dairy market.

The US wants India to reduce the tariffs on products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds, and ethanol, something which could hurt the interests of domestic farmers and allied industry.

While drawing the broader outline for trade talks, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to ensure nutritional security, crop diversification, and the development of climate-resilient crop varieties and technology integration.

He called for developing drought-tolerant, heat-resistant, and flood-adaptive crops while pushing for AI and machine learning integration in agricultural systems.

Modi called for increased research on crop rotation and soil-specific suitability and further stressed the need to develop affordable soil testing tools and effective nutrient management techniques.

The event honoured Swaminathan, whom Modi described as a visionary whose contributions transcended any single era. The prime minister recalled Swaminathan's prescient focus on forgotten crops like millets and his early warnings about chemical overuse in farming.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation Chairperson Soumya Swaminathan were among others present at the event.