Farming groups and civil society urge government not to agree to import of genetically modified agricultural products in new round of India-US trade talks

New Delhi: As a new round of trade talks between India and the US begins in Washington, India’s Non-GMO Alliance, a network of farmers and civil society organizations, on Monday wrote to the central government urging it not to allow import of genetically modified (GM) cottonseed oil, animal feed distillers dried grains (DDG) and soybean oil from the US into India.In a detailed letter to several Union ministers, including Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the alliance also urged them not to allow the removal of GMOs as non-tariff trade barriers. The United States has long asked India to address non-tariff barriers in U.S. trade in food and agricultural products.

The alliance believes that allowing these imports, when expressly prohibited by domestic laws, will constitute a backdoor for GM food into India and will lead to the legalization of GM food.While India can protect its position by banning imports of corn and soybeans, two US genetically modified crops, in an interim deal reached on February 7, it agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on a variety of US agricultural products, including DDG and soybean oil.The move was criticized by agricultural groups, who pointed out that most of the DDG comes from genetically modified U.S. corn.In its letter, the coalition pointed out how different US organizations are directly or indirectly promoting the opening of the market for GM agricultural products in India and urged the Indian government to distance itself from all agencies promoting US interests in GM crops in India under memorandums of understanding with US pro-GM organizations.

“These entities are nothing short of a new-age East India Company, operating in India to open the Indian market for American General Motors products and erode our sovereignty,” the report said.