In response to US President Donald Trump’s recent assertion that India has agreed to drastically lower its tariffs, the Indian Congress party has expressed grave worries.
Trump said India has agreed to “way down” its tariffs after being “exposed” for levying excessive taxes on American goods, which he said made it hard to sell items in India.
Piyush Goyal, the Indian Commerce Minister, made this revelation while in the US for trade talks.
Trump said India has agreed to “way down” its tariffs after being “exposed” for levying excessive taxes on American goods, which he said made it hard to sell items in India.
Piyush Goyal, the Indian Commerce Minister, made this revelation while in the US for trade talks.
Congress lawmakers Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh have questioned whether Trump pressured the Modi government into taking this action. They questioned why India was unable to negotiate a better agreement like Mexico and Canada, who were able to negotiate a temporary freeze on US reciprocal tariffs, and they criticised the lack of transparency in the negotiations.
The US President recently stated that “India has agreed to cut their tariffs… way down now because somebody’s finally exposing them for what they have done.” What does this mean for India? “Why is this ‘deal’, if any, cloaked in secrecy?” he continued.
Khera also slammed the administration for its handling of the negotiations, pointing out that Canada and Mexico were able to use diplomatic efforts to obtain a short-term reprieve from the application of tariffs.
“Decades of mutual cooperation have resulted in a stable, solid, and cherished strategic comprehensive relationship between the US and India. George W. Bush and Dr. Manmohan Singh worked together to negotiate the specifics of the historic Indo-US agreement, which benefited both parties. In order to eliminate India’s civil nuclear apartheid, Dr. Singh had essentially jeopardised the political future of his own government, but he claimed that it was in the country’s best interests.
“Today, PM Modi is acting in the exact opposite way; his administration appears to be aware of the boundaries imposed by Mr. Trump. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated yesterday at a media conclave in India that the Indian farm sector cannot stay closed. “We have made progress today, as a Union Minister is in the United States and we are being informed by the President of the United States that India has consented to lowering its tariffs and that India is being ‘exposed,'”.
The Congress party also voiced worries that such a move might jeopardise the interests of Indian small enterprises and farmers.
The Indian government has stated that talks are still in progress and that it is too soon to discuss specifics, therefore it has not formally verified the terms of any deal.
Government officials did point out that comparable talks are already taking place with the US, and that India has lowered tariffs in bilateral deals with other developed nations.
When Parliament reconvenes in March, the Congress party has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take it into confidence about these developments.
