In a jibe at the government over the interim US trade deal, the Congress has referred to the pact as reflective of “Abki baar Trump se haar” and must be put in “cold storage” in the wake of the confusion following the American Supreme Court’s verdict rejecting President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said the terms of the framework for the interim agreement must be reconsidered, and the clause talking about import liberalisation, especially of agricultural products, must be scrapped.
Ramesh added that an agreement is about give and take but India had only given under the interim trade pact. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a slogan in Houston in 2019 — ‘Abki baar Trump Sarkaar’ but this framework for an interim agreement is proof of ‘Abki baar Trump se haar’,” Ramesh said.
What happened on February 2 was that there was a need for the Prime Minister to “force” President Trump to announce the trade deal, he asked.
He alleged, “This is directly linked to Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s attack in Parliament on the PM on the failures on the external security front. So this announcement of the deal was part of managing the news and the headlines.”
He further pointed out that the framework for the interim trade agreement states that in the event of any changes from either side, the US and India agree that they can modify their commitments.
India has every right to change its commitments as President Trump has changed the tariffs, he argued.
“The first commitment we have made is to reduce or eliminate tariffs on a wide range of food and agricultural products. Our demand to the PM is to put this in cold storage,” Ramesh said.
In its commitment, India will eliminate or cut down import duties on all US industrial goods and a wide range of American food and agricultural products, he pointed out. This commitment, he said, in the joint statement must be changed because, as per this statement, India has every right to do so.
“The direct impact of this commitment is going to be felt on soyabean farmers, maize farmers, fruits and nuts cultivators, cotton farmers. It will impact farmers in J&K, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh to begin with. Then there is mention of additional products in the joint statement. What is meant by that,”Ramesh asked
“Our second question is that when the PM, the commerce minister (Piyush Goyal), knew from December that any time (now) the Supreme Court verdict could come, many believed that it could be struck down. Why did you hurriedly strike a deal when you knew the verdict could go against Trump,” Ramesh said.
“I hope in light of the massive confusion that surrounds this issue, this joint statement is put on cold storage. We renegotiate the terms. This is a one-sided deal. This will be detrimental to the interests of lakhs and lakhs of farmers in different states of the country,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh asked on the one hand the U.S. President and the U.S. secretary of state are claiming that India has stopped buying Russian oil, but the government is saying India is going to maintain our strategic autonomy, so what is the clarity on all these issues.”So, I am afraid these tough questions that are being asked of the prime minister and the PM is evading all these questions,” he alleged.
He claimed that every agreement is about give and take, but India has only given.
On the Congress agenda, Ramesh said the first in the series of Kisan Maha Chaupals will be held in Bhopal on February 24, the second in Maharashtra on March 7, and the third in Sri Ganganagar. He asserted, “Our objective is to fully protect the interests of farmers.”
“The PM was forced to withdraw the three black anti-farm laws in 2021. Our objective is to ensure the interests of the farmers are fully protected in any agreement that we sign,” he added.
Ramesh said that there is massive confusion and uncertainty on the change in tariffs by Trump.
“The best course for India is to put this framework agreement into cold storage, renegotiate the terms of the engagement to fully protect the interests of farmers,” he said.
In a major blow to Donald Trump’s key economic agenda in his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the tariffs he imposed on countries worldwide were illegal and that the president overstepped his authority in introducing the sweeping levies.
