Agreement or Agrarian Anxiety? India’s 2026 U.S. Trade Pact Ignites Emotional Showdown Between Market Access and Farmer's Survival

The new trade agreement, in February 2026 between India and the United States recently captured strong reactions across the country. The reactions came basically from farmers. The agreement on February 2, 2026 was announced by the U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Few important farm products such as wheat, rice and dairy are not included in the deal. Sensitive agricultural goods are (90-95)% projected in this agreement according to leaders like Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The leaders also observed that many Indian products such as basmati rice, spices and fruits will now get better access to the U.S. market without extra taxes. Several farmers groups strongly disagree regarding this agreement. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (consisting of more than 100 farmer unions) claimed this agreement as a “surrender” to U.S. interests. They organised a nationwide strike (Bharat Bandh) and spread across 600 districts. Bharat Bandh was done on February 12, 2026. SKM on February 17, 2026 launched a campaign demanding the removal of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. On February 27, 2026, planned delegations to the state leaders and opposition offices across India. Therefore, the India-US trade deal is witnessed as a state of severe deadlock between the government and farmer organizations.