US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday suggested that US agricultural products have gained access to the fresh market in India under the new India-US trade agreement. He called the deal a win for US farmers and said the agreement would help reduce the agricultural trade deficit with India.

“Thank you @POTUS for once again delivering for our American farmers. The new US-India deal will export more US agricultural products to the massive Indian market, raising prices and bringing cash to rural America,” the secretary wrote in X.

“In 2024, the U.S. agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India’s growing population is an important market for U.S. agricultural products, and today’s agreement will go a long way toward reducing that deficit,” he added.

Agriculture and dairy products remain the most watched parts of the India-US trade deal, the details of which are yet to be made public. These two sectors were the main issues that led to the months-long deadlock in trade negotiations between India and the US. India had rejected US demands for greater market access in dairy products and agriculture, describing them as “red lines” given the need to protect more than 80 million small farmers and rural livelihoods.

Concerns also include the nature of US dairy production, including products from cows fed animal feed, which has Indian cultural and religious sensitivities, along with resistance to genetically modified crops. These sectors support nearly half of India’s population, although they contribute about 16% of GDP, making them a high-stakes political issue, especially ahead of state elections.

Trump, while announcing the deal on Truth Social, had also singled out agriculture as part of India’s expanded purchase commitments to the US. “The Prime Minister also pledged to ‘BUY AMERICAN’ at a much higher level, in addition to over $500,000 BILLION in energy, technology, agriculture, coal and many other US products,” Trump said.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that India has offered market access for some agricultural products as part of its commitments under the deal. The report noted that India had recently offered selective market access for agricultural products to the European Union as well as under a trade agreement.

However, government sources told India Today that farmers’ interests continue to be protected by the India-US trade agreement. The sources also said the dairy sector would continue to be safeguarded and there had been no compromise on key protections as part of the negotiations.