India urged to block GM imports from the US amid trade talks

Amid a new round of trade negotiations between India and United States in Washington, the Coalition for a GM-Free India, a network of farmers and civil society organisations, has urged the Indian government not to allow imports of genetically modified products from the US.

In a letter addressed to several Union ministers, including Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the group opposed opening the market to US GM-derived goods such as cottonseed oil, animal feed distillers dried grains (DDGs), and soybean oil. The coalition also called on the government not to treat GM-related restrictions as non-tariff barriers that could be removed in a trade deal.

The group argued that allowing such imports would effectively create a “backdoor entry” for genetically modified food into India, despite domestic laws explicitly prohibiting it. According to the coalition, this could lead to the legitimisation of transgenic food in the country.

The letter also criticized recent trade understandings that reduced or eliminated tariffs on several US agricultural products, including DDGs and soybean oil. Farm organisations have warned that DDGs are largely derived from genetically modified US corn, which contradicts India’s regulatory stance on GM crops.

The coalition further alleged that certain US-linked organisations are actively promoting access to the Indian market for GM products, calling for India to withdraw from agreements with groups they say are advancing foreign GM interests. It warned that such initiatives could undermine India’s agricultural sovereignty and domestic farming interests.

Tags: corn, soybean, India, USA, GM, compound feed