Escalating trade tensions between India and the United States have sparked a new wave of farmer-led protests across India, with agricultural groups calling for a boycott of American products. The confrontation, which follows Washington’s imposition of steep tariffs on Indian goods and its demands for access to India’s tightly protected agricultural and dairy markets, underscores the deep economic and political stakes in what has become a simmering trade dispute between two major democracies.

At the heart of the conflict lies a fundamental clash of priorities. For Washington, opening India’s vast consumer base to American agricultural exports has long been a strategic goal. For New Delhi, however, protecting its farmers-many of whom are smallholders surviving on thin margins-is a political and moral imperative. With nearly 70% of rural households relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the sector is not just an economic engine but also a foundation of social stability in India.

Protesting farmers have wasted no time in framing the US demands as an assault on India’s food security and rural economy. In Greater Noida, near Delhi, hundreds of farmers organized a tractor rally earlier this week, vowing not to buy American products. Their boycott call targeted symbolic US brands, such as Coca-Cola, with one farmer declaring, “No farmer should buy Coca-Cola. It’s time to start having lemonade and buffalo milk at home.”

The message was clear: Indian farmers see Washington’s push for tariff exemptions on agricultural and dairy goods as a direct threat to their livelihoods. A farmer speaking at the protest warned........

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