Talking Swadeshi, Farmer Protection: Modi Signals To Trump That India Is No Pushover
'For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. I know personally, I will have to pay a heavy price for it, but I am ready for it." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference in New Delhi is a strong message being sent to US President Donald Trump who has used tariffs to try and cower India into submission.
What the US President has not realised is that unlike America's European allies or Japan, India is no pushover. It will not be bullied into opening critical Indian sectors for foreign goods. Modi leads a country of 1.4 billion people, of which 110-146.5 million are farmers contributing 20 per cent to the GDP.
What Did Modi Say?
Modi's address at the Dr Swaminathan centenary was not a cogitatio solum on Trump and Tariffs. On August 2, on his home turf of Varanasi, the Prime Minister had also made a pitch for India's retailers to sell Swadeshi, a rare departure from his usual calls for Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat and vocal for local.
By invoking the idea of 'Swadeshi', Modi was signalling that he was willing to take the path of Gandhi. It was a calibrated message for not just consumers and traders, but also policy pundits that India would not hesitate to draw firm lines when it comes to industrial and trade policies.
Modi's responses to Trump elevate him into a class of his own. There are not many who can personally stand up to the 'classroom bully' diplomacy that the Trump administration seems to have a penchant for.
India had started the pushback right since the first 25 per cent tariffs were announced. MEA released a statement that obliterated the claims and justifications used by Trump on a key ally like India. Rebuked, and later scorned by India's absolute refusal to kow-tow, Trump has doubled down by pushing more tariffs. But his ability to instill fear is overrated now.
Bully For You, Trump!
Other countries have also started taking a page out PM Modi's book on strong messaging. A major friend of India, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has also delivered a public rebuke of Trump by saying that no matter what, he will not pick up the phone and call the US President to negotiate on tariffs. Brazil has also been slapped with 50 per cent tariffs.
India and Brazil complete the consortium of BRICS that has the potential to take on the US, and change the geopolitical, global trade dynamics completely. What happens onward from this moment will be a lesson for all states looking to defy the US President. If it puts its mind to it, BRICS can upend the hegemony of the dollar completely.
After everything, Trump certainly did something that no US President had done before, alienated almost all US allies and banded together its adversaries.
India was one of the very first nations to come to the table on trade negotiations with the US after Trump had announced a baseline 10 per cent tariff with a grace period for world leaders to negotiate better trading terms. Despite the negotiations, despite India's proactiveness, Trump's belligerent decision to impose tariffs is nothing short of neo-imperialism.
Why Swadeshi? Why Farmer?
Modi's defiant message to Trump, revolving around Swadeshi and Farmer protection, is backed with economic realities which demonstrate India's ability to withstand and counter US trade pressures.
For over a decade, growth, scale and self reliance has become part of India's growth story. However, under threat of global protectionism, and a fragmenting world order, Modi is making a pivot, repositioning India's economic sovereignty as both policy and cultural commitment.
'Every new item entering our homes, must be swadeshi." When Modi called for 'Swadeshi' in Varanasi, it was an appeal of a different kind. Unlike Atmanirbhar or Make in India, the word Swadeshi carries the moral weight of India's freedom movement and the rejection of foreign dependence.
It's clear that New Delhi is in no mood to concede to any pressure, and will continue to chart the path on self-reliance trajectory. When Modi followed up with an appeal to the country's retailers to pledge to sell only swadeshi goods, it also was a clear message that he is willing to use the weight of India's huge consumer market, as a defensive shield.
Swadeshi also underlines that India, which is in the middle of trade negotiations with the EU and GCC, is also willing to move away from the trade relationship with the US if need be. The call for Swadeshi is backed by $967.3 Billion in actual negotiating tools. India has $623.8 billion in alternative trade partners to redirect trade flows, $200 billion in government procurement which can favour domestic companies instead of US companies.
The government also has $93.5 billion in GDP contribution from the agricultural sector value of production, and $50 billion in import controls which could be deployed.
Another key reason for the Swadeshi push is also to plug strategic vulnerabilities. This is not the first time Trump has imposed tariffs on Indian goods. In his first term, he slapped 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum from India, and then revoked India's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status, affecting $5.6 billion in Indian exports. India retaliated at the time, by raising tariffs on 28 US products, which had a sobering effect on US policymakers as exporters lobbied for tariff relief and eventual rollback.
But this game of chicken cannot be played every time a US President just deigns to make an example out of India. And this is where the call for Swadeshi comes into effect.
The call to stand up for farmers, even if it comes at a personal cost, as Modi stated, also comes from the will to protect India's agriculture and food security. Modi knows that to bow to Trump on farm imports is nothing short of suicide.
Under Modi government, India has become the world's number one producer of milk, pulses, and jute. Last year, India recorded its highest-ever foodgrain production. So keeping agriculture protected is critical to India's food security. No foreign power can be allowed to wipe out India's self-dependence and hold us hostage.
India's agricultural production still pales in comparison to the scale and industrial capacity of US agriculture. The average farm size in India is just 0.74 hectares compared to 187 hectares in the US. This means allowing US agricultural imports without fewer restrictions would spell doom for Indian farmers. Returns on agricultural products in India are already razor thin. Exposure to cut-throat competition from the Americans could trigger farm failures, debt defaults, and rural unemployment that can destabilise rural India.
There is an he argument that US goods cannot match the price point of domestic food production in India. But a simple look at almonds shows us this is untrue. US almonds have largely replaced Kashmiri almonds. Kashmiri almonds now account for less than 3 per cent of the market, whereas US almonds secured market dominance due to aggressive marketing and more efficient logistics.
Therefore the message from the PM, at Dr Swaminathan centenary conference, is that the welfare of farmers remains the utmost priority for his government. And that India is determined to move forward to the next frontier in food security. The recent FTA with the UK was a prime example of how India puts farmers first. Key products like cheese were kept off the scope primarily to protect the interests of dairy farmers.
The Modi government has been at the forefront of direct support for small-scale farmers, whether it be through the PM-Kisan scheme, crop insurance or cheaper, quality seeds and fertilisers. The creation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) has strengthened the collective power of small farmers too.
Why India Is Not Afraid
Yes, there is a trade imbalances with the US, and it benefits India currently. However, the $45.8 Billion trade surplus means it's the US which needs Indian goods more. Trade deficit has grown 5.9 per cent YoY, which showcases America's increasing dependence on Indian exports.
This essentially means Trump's tariffs essentially are economic self harm. Any escalation, such as the one going on right now, hurts America's access to critical Indian products like pharmaceuticals.
Indian companies supply 40 per cent of America's generic drug market. Their prices in the US will go up. India, on the other hand, is now an indispensable link in the global healthcare supply chain. It exports pharmaceuticals to over 200 countries. It can easily find new markets. The net loser will be the US.
While the US accounts for 18.3 per cent of India's exports ($87.3 billion), alternative markets offer a combined value of $623.8 billion, which is nearly 6.5 times the US market size.
Trade with GCC countries has already reached $161.8 billion. India supplies 50 per cent of Africa's generic drug needs and maintains growing trade relationships across the continent. India's trade with the EU reached $135.3 billion in 2023-24, with India maintaining a $16.55 billion surplus.
Despite a trade deficit with ASEAN countries, bilateral trade reached $121 billion in 2023-24, growing 5.2 per cent in the April-October 2024 period. Lowering trade barriers with ASEAN would allow Indian manufacturers to access cheaper raw materials while expanding market access for finished goods which can essentially replace the US market in size and capacity.
Trump's Tariffs can also blow away lucrative defence deals for the US. There are already murmurs about India rethinking the P8 aircraft deal. The US is keen on bigger deals like a proposed sale of F-35 jets, co-production of Javelin missiles and Stryker combat vehicles. All of these could be soon in jeopardy. Combined with India's focus on 'swadeshi' and the Make In India pitch with partners like France, Israel and Russia, this could mean the loss of a big defence market for American hardware.
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Trump's classroom bully diplomacy would have worked when America held overwhelming economic leverage. But not in today's multipolar world where the US is no longer the only dominant player.
In his own way, the PM is telling Trump, 'Go on, levy your fines, your sanctions and your tariffs, India will not budge."
About the Author
Sohil Sinha
Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects.
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donald trump India-US trade deal Narendra Modi
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First Published:
August 08, 2025, 08:50 IST
News opinion Talking Swadeshi, Farmer Protection: Modi Signals To Trump That India Is No Pushover
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