Parliament Question: Bilateral trade agreements and their implications on agriculture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2412 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 13/03/2026 BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON AGRICULTURE 2412. SHRI A. A. RAHIM: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) the details of bilateral trade agreements currently in force or under negotiation that contain provisions relating to agricultural and allied sectors; (b) whether any new trade agreements during the current year propose tariff concessions, quota arrangements or regulatory alignments for agricultural commodities, if so, the countries involved; (c) whether Government has assessed the likely impact of such arrangements on domestic production, farmer incomes, price stability and food security; and (d) the safeguards envisaged to protect sensitive agricultural sectors and farmers’ livelihoods? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b): India has entered into a number of bilateral and regional trade agreements which include provisions relating to agriculture and allied sectors. Some of the recent major agreements, inter alia, currently in force include:  India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement  India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)  India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) Further, India is currently engaged in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with its several trading partners, such as, USA, Peru and Chile etc. (c): The assessment of impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is a continuous process. A Joint Study Group (JSG) is normally set up to study the feasibility of the proposed FTAs. The FTA Monitoring Committee under the Department of Commerce (DoC) oversees the impact of FTAs through regular industry feedback on employment and industrial growth. This helps address import-related issues such as rule violations and unfair trade practices, as well as export challenges like FTA underutilization and non-trade barriers. Additionally, the DoC conducts FTA assessment studies as needed for review and to guide future negotiations. (d): To safeguard the interests of farmers and the domestic industry, international trade negotiations allow for inclusion of sensitive or exclusion lists -categories of goods on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted. In addition, in case of surge in imports and injury to the domestic industry, a country is allowed to take recourse to trade remedial measures such as anti-dumping and safeguards on imports within the periods as mutually agreed to by the parties under FTAs. *****