India Forced To Concede More Than What It Has Got: Congress On Interim Trade Deal Wit
India Forced To Concede More Than What It Has Got: Congress On Interim Trade Deal With US
M.U.H
11/02/202619
New Delhi: Hours after the White House released a fact sheet on the United States' interim trade agreement with India, Congress on Tuesday launched an attack on the Centre, saying India has been "forced to concede more than what it has got".
Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's claims, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the deal reflects American interests far more than India's.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said that the US understanding of a deal is very different from the "propaganda" that is being put out by the Modi Government. "It did not take long for President Trump and his team to puncture the tall claims being made by the PM and his many megaphones on the Indo-US trade deal. Clearly, the US's understanding of the deal is very different from the propaganda that is being put out by the Modi Govt," he said.
He further described the agreement as a "coerced opening" rather than a carefully planned policy move. "This is not a calibrated opening but a coerced opening. India has been forced to concede more than what it has got," he added.
The Congress leader's remarks came after the United States issued a fact sheet detailing the framework of the interim trade agreement. According to the document, US President Donald Trump agreed to remove the additional 25 percent tariff on imports from India after "India committed to stopping the purchase of oil from the Russian Federation". Following this, President Trump signed an Executive Order last Friday removing the additional 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports, the White House fact sheet said.
Referring to US deal with Bangladesh, Ramesh said, "...Now our much-touted advantage over Bangladesh in textile exports to the US has vanished with the details of the US-Bangladesh trade deal also having just been announced."
According to the US-India interim trade agreement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
On the other hand, the United States will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 percent under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as amended, on originating goods of India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products, and certain machinery.
