DCC submits memorandum to Governor opposing Indo–US Trade Agreement
Ferozepur, February 19, 2026: Opposing the India–United States trade agreement, the District Congress Committee Ferozepur, following the directions of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Punjab through the Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepur. The memorandum was handed over under the leadership of District Congress President and former MLA Kulbir Singh Zira.
A large gathering comprising District Congress Committee office-bearers, constituency in-charges, block presidents, mandal presidents, and a significant number of farmers was present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Kulbir Singh Zira said the Indo–US trade agreement was anti-farmer and anti-labour, and could have serious adverse consequences for farmers and workers across the country. He warned that the agreement could severely damage India’s agricultural economy. Zira said Punjab, being an agriculture-dominated and border state, would be the worst affected, with not only economic but also social and political repercussions.
He pointed out that Punjab was already grappling with serious challenges such as drug abuse, shrinking landholdings, declining agricultural employment, and rising unemployment in rural areas. He cautioned that the influx of cheaper foreign agricultural products would displace domestic produce, making it impossible for small and marginal farmers—who own an average of about two acres of land—to compete with large-scale, highly subsidized and mechanized American farmers.
Zira further expressed concern that increasing unemployment could be exploited by hostile forces across the border, noting past attempts by Pakistan and its intelligence agency ISI to destabilize the state. He said that while drugs were already being smuggled via drones, the possibility of weapons being trafficked in a similar manner could not be ruled out. A strong economy and gainfully employed youth, he stressed, were the best safeguards against such threats.
Recalling past policies, Zira said that governments from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh had consciously avoided opening Indian markets to foreign agricultural products to protect the domestic economy, even during periods of food scarcity.
Through the memorandum addressed to Gulab Chand Kataria, the Congress leaders urged the Government of India to reconsider and withdraw the proposed trade agreement in order to safeguard India’s agricultural economy, particularly the interests of Punjab’s farmers.