Farm groups and civil societies urge govt not to agree imports of GM farm products amid fresh round of India-US trade talks

What Happened

• A coalition of farm groups and civil society organisations formally urged the central government not to agree to imports of genetically modified (GM) agricultural products as part of the ongoing India–US bilateral trade negotiations.
• India and the United States are in a fresh round of trade talks aimed at concluding a bilateral trade agreement, partly in response to US reciprocal tariff pressure on Indian exports.
• The US has long sought to reduce what it characterises as Indian sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers — including restrictions on GM crop imports — flagging them as trade-distorting measures in trade discussions.
• Products of specific concern include dried distillers' grains (DDGS), red sorghum, soybean oil, and certain fruits and nuts that are closely linked to GM agricultural supply chains in the US.
• India's current position: commercial cultivation of only one GM crop — Bt cotton (a non-food crop) — is permitted; no GM food crop has received full clearance for unrestricted commercial cultivation.
• The Supreme Court has the GM mustard case under consideration, seeking a comprehensive national GM policy from the government — which is yet to be finalised.
• Farm groups argue that opening the market to GM-linked products from a highly mechanised, subsidised US agriculture sector would depress domestic prices and disrupt rural livelihoods.

Static Topic Bridges

India's GMO Regulatory Framework: GEAC and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

India's regulatory framework for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) operates under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The apex decision-making body for evaluating proposals relating to the release of GMOs and GM products into the environment is the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), which functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). GEAC evaluates biosafety, environmental impact, and risk assessments before permitting any commercial release or import of GM organisms. A separate body, the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), oversees contained research activities.

Bt Cotton: India's Only Approved GM Crop

Bt cotton, approved in India in 2002, was the country's first and to date only commercially cultivated GM crop. It contains genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that produce proteins toxic to certain insects (bollworm pests), reducing the need for insecticide application. Bt cotton transformed Indian cotton production: cotton yields increased significantly post-2002, India became the world's largest cotton producer, and pesticide use on cotton fell sharply in the initial years. However, the emergence of secondary pests and resistance concerns have moderated the assessment over time. Critically, Bt cotton is a fibre crop — not a food crop — so its approval did not trigger food safety debates as directly as a GM food crop would.

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is an international treaty that governs the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs) — including GM seeds, food, and feed. It is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Protocol establishes the principle of Advance Informed Agreement (AIA), requiring the exporting country to notify and obtain consent from the importing country before the first intentional transboundary movement of an LMO. Crucially, it incorporates the precautionary principle — countries may restrict LMO imports even in the absence of scientific certainty about harm, if there is reason to believe harm could occur. India ratified the Cartagena Protocol in 2003.

WTO SPS Agreement and GM Crops: Science vs Precaution

The Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) under the WTO governs how member countries may restrict trade based on food safety, animal and plant health concerns. Under SPS rules, restrictions must be: (a) scientifically justified based on risk assessment, (b) not more trade-restrictive than necessary, and (c) consistent — not discriminating between similar products from different countries. The US has argued that India's blanket restrictions on GM crop imports are not backed by sufficient scientific risk assessment and constitute non-tariff barriers. India's counter is that biosafety assessments are ongoing, the national GM policy is pending, and the precautionary principle under the Cartagena Protocol provides complementary legal support.

Key Facts & Data

• India's only approved GM crop for commercial cultivation: Bt cotton (2002); non-food crop
• No GM food crop approved for commercial cultivation in India as of 2026
• GM mustard (DMH-11): GEAC recommended 2022; Supreme Court stayed; national GM policy pending
• GEAC: functions under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; under MoEFCC
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: adopted 2000, in force 2003; India ratified 2003
• Precautionary principle: allows restriction of GM imports without full scientific proof of harm
• WTO SPS Agreement: requires scientific basis for trade restrictions; US uses this to challenge Indian GM barriers
• Contentious US products: DDGS (GM corn byproduct), red sorghum, soybean oil — cited as near-GM supply chain products
• India–US trade deal: zero-duty/reduced-duty access agreed for select US farm products; GM food crops reportedly kept out of current deal text
• Farm concern: US agriculture is highly mechanised and subsidised; GM crop imports could depress domestic prices and harm rural livelihoods
• India's agriculture-sensitive list: certain crops protected from full liberalisation in trade agreements