No agreement has been reached yet on pulses in the interim trade agreement, but negotiations on the matter are still ongoing. Photo Credit: Kagenami
Despite the White House last week removing the mention of Indian pulses from its revised factsheet on the framework of the US-India interim trade agreement, the issue is not off the table, sources said.
“There has been no agreement yet on pulses in the interim trade agreement, but talks on the matter are still ongoing. Final commitments could be ironed out once the negotiating teams sit face-to-face in Washington next week,” a source tracking the matter said.
Chauhan criticized Congress
Interestingly, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday criticized the Congress party for opposing the trade deal with the US and opposing the import of pulses, cotton and apples, which he said were essential in the country. “Whatever we produce, like wheat, rice or maize, it will not come (from the US)… We all know that in terms of pulses we are not self-sufficient today – consumption exceeds production. It is necessary to import it to meet the demand. Whatever product we need (to import), if it comes from any country then why is there an objection?” Chouhan said at an event in Jaipur.
There was no mention of pulses in the India-US joint statement on the framework of the interim trade agreement issued on February 6. But a factsheet released by the White House soon after included “certain pulses” in the list of agricultural commodities on which India had reportedly agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs. This led to protests by some agricultural groups and heated political debate in India, after which the reference to pulses in the fact sheet was removed.
Another source said, “The White House fact sheet should have reflected what was included in the joint statement. Since pulses were not mentioned in the joint statement, it was edited from the fact sheet. But one has to understand that there are about 1,800 trade tariff lines in agriculture and not everything can be included in the joint statement. Talks are on and there will be more clarity on many things, including pulses.”
At a media briefing after the joint statement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal mentioned “pulses” among the agricultural commodities that India had been importing from the US for many years, including during the tenure of the UPA government, where some concessions were offered as part of the deal.
Published on February 17, 2026
