Negotiations for an interim Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between India and the United States are facing delays due to historical 50% tariffs imposed on various goods. While Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer advance discussions on market access, non-tariff measures, and economic alignment, domestic sectors are actively demanding defensive safeguards. Specifically, a joint forum representing apple, almond, and walnut growers across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand has formally appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Hill State Horticulture Forum warns that reducing import tariffs or applying a flawed Minimum Import Price (MIP) framework would force small, marginal regional farmers to compete at a catastrophic disadvantage against heavily subsidized, industrial-scale agricultural imports from the United States.