India should retain its political space in the agriculture sector on the basis of a proposed business agreement with the US, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) initiative said on Monday.
Any reduction in import obligations for American agricultural goods could endanger the Earth’s food security, Think Tank said.
The threat of subsidized imports
Gtri emphasizes that American agricultural products, such as rice, dairy products, poultry and genetically modified soy, benefit from deep subsidies, providing them with an unfair advantage over Indian manufacturers.
The body warns that such imports, if allowed with lower tariffs, could damage more than 700 million rural live, especially in global price accidents, quoted such cases, PTI reported.
Also read | Golden stores bland; Experts emphasize Gold MCX keys
Speaking of historical data, he said that from 2014 to 2016 the global grain prices collapsed – wheat dropped below $ 160 per ton, which erased farmers throughout Africa.
If India removes tariffs, cheap, subsidized American grains could similarly flood Indian markets during global price accidents, Think warn the tank.
The protection of the Indian agricultural industry
The founder of Gtri Ajay Srivastava said that Indian limitation of milk imports, such as the requirement for animals not to be fed with meat, blood or internal organs of other animals, block an American approach to dairy products.
However, the US consider it too strict, but imagine ate butter made of milk of a cow that was fed with meat and blood from another cow, he said.
Also read | India faces stiff American conditions in the final section of trade
“India may never allow it. The Indian Milky Sector is built on millions of small owners with one or two cows or buffaloes. The opening of subsidized US imports could destroy the living,” Srivastava said.
Similarly, the import of poultry, if relaxed, would affect local manufacturers.
Public opposition to GM food
The US also criticizes Indian rules on genetically modified food (GM) as unclear and not based on scientific proceedings, making the export of American biotechnology to achieve India.
“India, however, is cautious because of the strong public opposition to GM food and concerns about environmental risks. It also notes that the main regions like the EU are without GM and the adoption of GM crops could affect soil health and injure India exports,” he added.
Also read | Startups of drones that look for defense to serve agriculture, fast trade
He also said that the free supply chains of India mean that GM features could easily penetrate into domestic systems, contaminate local crops and injure exports to GM sensitive markets.
Massive subsidies give us an advantage
He also said that US agricultural exports are supported by massive subsidies.
In some years, these subsidies exceeded 50 % of the production value. Some cases are rice (87 %), cotton (74 %), rape (61 %) and wool (215 %).
Products that benefit from such subsidies are apples, almonds, corn, dairy products, poultry and ethanol, all of which all the US want to sell to India.
Unlike the US, where agriculture is corporation, Indian agriculture is a problem with living, and therefore tariffs are necessary to protect small farmers, manage price differences and ensure food safety in the country, the press agency reported.
(Tagstotranslate) India Agriculture policy
