[CTC] US Alters India Trade Agreement Factsheet // Indian Farmers Protest Against Modi’s Trade Deal With Trump

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*Two interesting pieces on Trump's India trade deal below...*

*US Alters India Trade Agreement Factsheet*

*Politico AM Trade 2/12/26*

*QUIET OVERHAUL: *The White House quietly revised a fact sheet on its
updated U.S.-India trade framework, removing references to tariff
reductions on pulses and softening language about New Delhi’s commitments
to purchase American goods, according to Bloomberg.
<https://url8086.email.politicopro.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV6ykGZP1kSNxvKAuCdDjb3j-5Lce3C8hPMvMIxqkSDc36dSEXBBTq18EziM3Fw66I9dELqisK_kUHQwXcoXgBmiDUfxCdmFsOANXf3knd0WHZQsw8m_jbLv5vV2_NvmPH9DW3gRoUvIygyvcxs1gnfeU/4o3/SejK_xP5SASMnDZzOI7qkg/h27/h001.8n2O7VpijmT0hIJnIoR_znBN2mg6htHrj1vUffgI8qI>

An earlier version of the fact sheet released Monday said India would
“eliminate or reduce tariffs” on agricultural products, including pulses,
which refers to dried legumes like lentils and chickpeas. The revised
version removes that reference.

It also shifts wording to say India “intends to” buy American energy and
technology products as part of a broader $500 billion purchase plan, rather
than stating that it had “committed” to those purchases, and drops
agricultural goods from that list.

The updated document also removes language indicating that India would
scrap digital services taxes and deletes mention of rules barring customs
duties on electronic transmissions.


===


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-12/indian-farmers-protest-against-modi-s-trade-agreement-with-trump
Indian Farmers Protest Against Modi’s Trade Deal With Trump
By Pratik Parija
<https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ACT1hUlVowE/pratik-parija> and Swati
Gupta <https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AWZfRQwLDfI/swati-gupta>
February 12, 2026 at 5:49 AM GMT+1
Updated on
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM GMT+1

Thousands of Indian farmers gathered across the country from Punjab to
Tamil Nadu to demonstrate against a long-awaited trade deal with the United
States, an agreement that protesters say
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-09/india-s-major-farmer-group-revolts-against-us-trade-deal>
could
hurt domestic agriculture.

Thursday’s rallies — which went ahead even after the US watered down
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-11/white-house-amends-us-india-trade-factsheet-to-remove-pulses>
its
language around the deal — underscore the challenge faced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, as he seeks to slash punitive US tariffs while still
shielding India’s rural economy and maintaining some trade with Russia.

India’s tens of millions of small farmers are a vital political
constituency in the world’s most populous nation, and any threat of
sustained nationwide protests evokes memories of 2020 and 2021, when
growers paralyzed the capital and mounted Modi’s most significant challenge
in over a decade at the helm.

Crowds of farmers in Punjab — joined by industrial and rural workers —
chanted slogans against Modi and US President Donald Trump, as the
gathering also voiced opposition to other rural policies, including
employment initiatives and proposed legislation on seeds and electricity.

“This is a betrayal of the country,” said Raminder Singh, member of the
National Coordination Committee of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a farmer group
that is among the organizers. He accused the Indian government of
surrendering to Trump, adding that a flood of US imports would threaten
domestic farmers. “We do not support this open-ended trade deal with the
US.”

The government has repeatedly sought to dampen
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-04/modi-officials-move-to-allay-fears-trump-deal-is-bad-for-india>rural
concerns. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has emphasized that sensitive
agricultural products, including dairy and poultry, are excluded from
negotiations, and has said would be no concessions on imports of key
genetically modified crops, a hot-button issue for the ruling party. While
New Delhi has not explicitly opposed GM crops as a position, legal and
other blocks have effectively kept them out, with the exception of cotton.

New Delhi’s concessions will almost certainly push open more parts of the
country’s $580 billion agricultural sector, though. Concessions already
include allowing imports of DDGS, or distillers dried grains, an ethanol
byproduct used in animal feed which in the US is largely made from GM corn.
Lower duties on soybean oil should also make US supplies more competitive.

“This government is trying to sell the sovereignty of our country by
cutting deals,” said Ramesh Parashat, a senior leader with All India United
Trade Union Centre. “They want to open the agriculture sector to
corporates.”

Read More: US Changes India Trade Deal Statement, Sparking Confusion
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-11/white-house-amends-us-india-trade-factsheet-to-remove-pulses>

Trump announced a surprise deal early this month after a call with Modi,
posting on social media that he would slash tariffs in return for more
purchases of US goods and an end to Russian oil purchases. The agreement
was cheered as an end to months of acrimony, but details from the Indian
side have remained sparse. Changes to US language have only added to the
uncertainty.

A revised fact sheet
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/02/fact-sheet-the-united-states-and-india-announce-historic-trade-deal/>
issued
by the White House this week removed a reference to pulses — a staple food
for Indian households — and softened language around purchasing commitments.

While Punjab, an agricultural heartland, has seen some of the largest
protests, other demonstrations popped up elsewhere across the country’s
north to Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south. Hundreds of people came
together at New Delhi’s popular protest site, Jantar Mantar, an area near
the parliament buildings that includes a historic observatory. Waving flags
and banners, the crowd expressed anger over a range of issues, including
the revamped labor policies.

“This free trade agreement is about a rich country catching a weaker one
and signing a bilateral deal,” Hannan Mullah, a senior leader with SKM,
said at the gathering in the Indian capital. “This deal is suicidal and
will destroy Indian produce.”
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