NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday urged the Centre to “take the Parliament and the entire country into confidence” over details of the India-US trade agreement after US President Donald Trump publicly announced and outlined its key components. Adding Indians have the right to know the full terms of the pact.In a post on X, Congress laid out several concerns, including claims that the deal was announced by Trump “on Modi’s request” and raised questions about its impact on Indian industry, traders and farmers. The grand old party flagging some issues fired four questions at the government demanding a complete clarity and details over the deal:
- Tariffs and market access: Trump said India would move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against US goods to “zero,” and India will benefit from a US reduction in reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. It “seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America,” the Congress post said, asking what the deal specifically entails and how farmers’ interests are protected.
- Agriculture sector access: The party sought clarity on talk of opening India’s agriculture sector to American products, asking how the security and interests of Indian farmers have been ensured.
- Oil supply conditions: Trump’s announcement said PM Modi agreed to “stop buying Russian oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela.” Congress asked whether the government has formally accepted this condition.
- Buy American commitments: It also said according to the announcement, India would purchase over USD 500 billion of American goods, including energy, technology and agricultural products – raising questions in New Delhi about how this squares with the “Make in India” initiative.
In his post announcing the deal, Trump wrote: “It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi… He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela… effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India… whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%… They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO.” Responding to Trump’s announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the US President, saying he was “delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%” and that stronger cooperation between the two democracies would benefit their people. Congress leaders have also questioned why key aspects of the trade deal were publicly disclosed from Washington, rather than jointly announced by both governments, and called for full disclosure of the agreement’s terms to lawmakers and the public.The government has not yet issued a comprehensive official statement detailing the full terms of the agreement beyond what was shared by Trump and acknowledged by PM Modi.