Trump aide claims deal would pump American farm goods in India

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday said that as per the India-US deal, Washington will export more of its farm products to India. Rollins said that the deal will pump more cash in rural America.

In a post on X, the Secretary said, “Thank you US President Donald Trump for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India’s massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India’s growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today’s deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag”.

Thank you @POTUS for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers.

New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India’s massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America.

In 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3… https://t.co/Z04eNDfXjD

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 2, 2026

India is yet to detail out the tenets of the Trade Deal with the United States. US agricultural exports in 2025 reached approximately $1.7 billion according to USDA data. Demand was driven by tree nuts (almonds, pistachios), cotton, and soybean oil.

The Agriculture Secretary’s remarks followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with India, months after imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. The agreement, unveiled on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, features significant tariff reductions and includes claims that India would halt purchases of Russian oil.

Trump had earlier levied a 50 per cent tariff on India, with 25 per cent linked to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials repeatedly alleged that India’s oil purchases helped finance Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Congress demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects such as the opening of the agriculture sector, the reduction of tariffs to “zero” and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump.

In a post on X, Congress first questioned the manner of the deal announcement, then delved into the details shared by Donald Trump. The party said that reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to ‘zero will “impact” India and also questioned how opening the agriculture sector would ensure the “security of farmers.”

“Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done ‘on Modi’s request’,” Congress said.

“Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ‘zero’. It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers. There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How has the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?” the party asked. (ANI)