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  "path": "/partner/farmers-protest-us-india-trade",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-12T16:10:03.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nThousands of Indian farmers protested across the country on Thursday, alleging the government had compromised their interests in the U.S.-India interim trade framework, while the trade minister said safeguards were in place.\n\nFarmers burned symbolic copies of the India-U.S. trade pact in their fields and at protest meetings, saying the government moved ahead without consulting them.\n\nOpposition parties led by Congress lawmakers also staged protests outside the parliament complex, holding placards with slogans such as \"Trap Deal\" and \"US deal will destroy farmers\", and accusing the government of \"surrendering\" farmers' and domestic industries' interest.\n\nThe agreement has revived memories of protests in 2020-21 which forced the government to back down and repeal three laws aimed at deregulating agricultural markets.\n\nTrade Minister Piyush Goyal said most of India's farm products were kept out of the trade arrangement with the United States and that farmers' interests had been protected.\n\nGoyal accused opposition parties of misleading farmers and said key items such as dairy, poultry, rice, wheat and several fruits and vegetables were outside the deal.\n\nRakesh Tikait, a prominent farm leader, said: \"Protests were held in states including Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where farmers asserted their rights over their land and pledged not to cede their fields to market forces.\"\n\nThe Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of more than 100 farm groups, along with some trade unions affiliated with opposition parties, had called for nationwide protests, saying the deal could allow imports of subsidized U.S. farm products that may depress domestic prices and hurt rural incomes.\n\nThe deal would hurt India's farmers and the poor because of lower tariff barriers, said Purushottam Sharma, another farmer leader protesting in Delhi.\n\nWorkers also joined demonstrations in industrial towns against the U.S. deal and the government's labor policies, said Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, one of the leading trade unions.\n\nLocal media reported that economic activity largely remained normal.\n\nGoyal also said Indian textile and apparel exporters could get zero-tariff benefits on using U.S. cotton once the bilateral trade deal is signed.",
  "title": "Farmers protest over US-India trade framework, government defends pact"
}