No deal on agri imports with US at the cost of Indian farmers: Chouhan

Bhopal: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said no agreement will be inked with the United States regarding farm produce imports at the cost of Indian farmers. The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including 25 per cent additional duties, for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. "The Prime Minister has said no pact will take place at the cost of farmers. Their interest will be protected," Chouhan said at a news conference here.

He was responding to the question whether there was any room to strengthen Indo-US relations by compromising a little on the import duty on US farm produce. To a question about the Opposition's charge that Trump's tariff shock led to the changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, he said, "They see Trump behind every good work that happens in Bharat....Prime minister Narendra Modi has shown it to the world that the interest of the country is paramount for him, and there will be no compromise on it. "The interests of our farmers, poultry farmers, fishermen and the poor will be protected," the Union minister further said, adding that India takes its own decisions. On August 25, Chouhan had stated at a function here that the government resisted demands to allow the import of US agricultural produce in the interest of Indian farmers.