Farmers Slam India-UK Trade Deal as Revival of Imperialism

On 6 May, Panjab farmers’ organizations including Samyukt Kisan Morcha and Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan; BKU) opposed the new India–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement. They stated that duty cuts will let British lamb, salmon, soft drinks, chocolate, biscuits, medical devices, cosmetics, electrical machinery, and aerospace goods enter India without restriction, threatening incomes of farmers, fish workers, and small and medium food processors. All India Kisan Sabha president Ashok Dhawale said previous bilateral and multilateral pacts hurt agriculture and small industry and argued that the latest treaty, signed without parliamentary scrutiny, would deepen the realization crisis in both sectors by allowing international finance capital wider access. He urged the union government to withdraw immediately from the agreement and to halt parallel negotiations with the US. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) coordinator Pavel Kussa said the pact would tighten an ‘imperialist grip’ on the economy by encouraging further dumping of foreign goods, comparing the move to colonial-era trade practices. Kussa accused the govt. of delivering national markets to outside powers while promoting domestic nationalism. US officials said India is seeking separate terms by offering to narrow its average tariff gap with the US to below 4% from nearly 13%. This will be effective if US President Donald Trump grants India an exemption from current and potential tariff hikes imposed under his reciprocal duties program. The proposal would eliminate duties on 60% of tariff lines in an initial phase and give preferential access on almost 90% of US goods. India also wants treatment equal to close US allies in critical technology fields including artificial intelligence, telecom, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. India has agreed to ease export regulations on the US aircraft and parts, luxury cars, electric vehicles, telecom hardware, medical devices, hydrocarbons, wines, whiskey, berries, prunes, certain chemicals, and animal feed. Officials said a delegation could travel to Washington, DC later this month and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal may join if schedules permit.