SKM Launches Nationwide Offensive Against Proposed US Trade Agreement
The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a prominent farmer collective, has initiated a nationwide offensive against a proposed trade agreement with the United States. The group has labeled the deal a "total surrender" of India's agricultural sovereignty to multinational corporations, escalating its campaign with strategic political meetings across the country.
State Delegations to Meet Chief Ministers and Opposition Leaders
On Tuesday, the SKM announced that state delegations will convene with chief ministers and opposition leaders nationwide on February 27. The objective is to demand that state governments leverage their political influence to block the trade pact. The SKM asserts that the agreement will flood Indian markets with subsidized American agricultural products, potentially devastating the domestic dairy and grain sectors.
Details of the "Interim India-US Trade Agreement"
The resistance centers on the "Interim India-US Trade Agreement", which reportedly eliminates or sharply reduces import duties on a wide range of American goods. The SKM highlighted a significant disparity: while US tariffs on Indian goods remain at 18%, India is being pressured to slash its agricultural tariffs—currently ranging from 30% to 150%—down to zero. This imbalance, according to the group, prioritizes US agribusiness interests over the livelihoods of India's 14.6 crore farm holdings.
Demands for Government Action and Federalism
The SKM has urged farmers to send an open letter to the President of India before March 9, demanding that the Prime Minister be directed to withdraw from the pact. Additionally, they are calling for the dismissal of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, whom they hold responsible for the negotiations. Beyond trade issues, the SKM is framing the protest as a fight for federalism, advocating for a radical overhaul of India's tax structure to empower individual states.
Key demands include:
- Amending the "regressive" GST Act to restore taxation powers to the states.
- Increasing the states' share of the divisible tax pool (including cesses and surcharges) to 60%, up from the current 33%.
- Withdrawing a recent central directive that asked the Kerala government to stop providing bonuses to paddy farmers above the minimum support price (MSP).
Core Demands for 2026 and Warning of Mass Protests
The SKM reiterated its long-standing "non-negotiable" requirements to address agrarian distress, which include:
- A legal guarantee for MSP calculated using the C2 + 50% formula (comprehensive cost plus 50% profit).
- A comprehensive program to liberate farmers from chronic indebtedness.
- Using increased state revenue to fund agro-based industrialization and infrastructure.
This mobilization coincides with the second phase of the Union Budget session, set to resume in March. The SKM has issued a stern warning to the government: if it proceeds with the trade deal, the country could witness a repeat of the mass protests seen in 2020-21, signaling a potential escalation in farmer activism.
