Opposition leaders on Saturday lashed out at the BJP-led government after India and the US announced the framework for an interim trade deal. The agreement stipulates a reciprocal tariff of 18% on Indian exports to the US.
Opponents say India-US trade deal favors US, calling it ‘serious mistake’ (Bloomberg)Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal shared the joint statement on social media, highlighting the potential market access the deal could unlock. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has reached a framework for an interim agreement with the US that will “open up a $30 trillion market for Indian exporters.”
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At the same time, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove a 25% “punitive” tariff on Indian goods and reiterated India’s commitment to stop importing Russian oil “directly or indirectly”.
Prime Minister Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also welcomed the agreement
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Congress said ‘enough to live on’Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticized the framework, saying the joint statement was “silent on details”.
“India will stop importing oil from Russia, while the US can recover 25% penalty if India buys Russian oil directly or indirectly. India will reduce import duties to benefit American farmers at the expense of Indian farmers,” he said, while reading out the joint statement, in a post by X.
Ramesh added that “uncertainty remains over India’s IT and services exports to the US.”
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“All the hugs and photo-ops are not much. Namaste Trump scores over Howdy Modi,” the Congress MP said, referring to the two leaders’ mutual events a few years back. He further added, “Dost Dost Na Raha (Friends No More)”
‘Trump is directing everything’Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat told news agency ANI, “This is not a trade deal, it is a serious deal. They talk about ‘Make in India’, but they have done ‘Sell in India’.” Trump is directing everything and PM Modi is reading the script. It’s not a master stroke. It’s a big mistake.”
AAP Delhi president Sourav Bharadwaj also criticized the deal, saying, “Even politically weak governments have not surrendered the country to the US. Will US President Trump run India the way he runs Venezuela?”
Call for detailed parliamentary scrutinyCongress leader Udit Raj called for a clause-by-clause debate on the interim trade deal citing serious economic concerns. He said Indian farmers “will not be able to compete with US product quality and prices” and warned that some provisions, including a ban on Russian oil imports, could force India into expensive energy deals.
“Indian refineries are calibrated for Gulf and Russian crudes. It does not make sense to import oil from distant sources due to high transportation costs,” he told ANI.
Also on the Congress side, Lok Sabha member and former minister Manish Tewari questioned the access to agricultural and industrial markets under the agreement.
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Citing the joint statement, he highlighted India’s commitment to reduce tariffs on US industrial products and a wide range of agricultural products including red sorghum, soybean oil, wine, spirits, tree nuts and dried distillers grains (DDG).
Tewari questioned whether the term meant that India had opened its markets completely “without any permission or hindrance”; And called for a “full discussion in Parliament” to clarify the terms
‘an order’Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticized the deal, calling it an “order” from Washington rather than the result of negotiations. He noted that the framework mirrors Trump’s earlier statements about Truth Social, ANI reported.
Citing the joint statement, Chaturvedi noted that under the provisions India would reduce tariffs on US food and agricultural products, while the US would set an 18% tariff on Indian goods.
