Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been making headlines of late for what many see as his softened stance on the NDA government, has asked the Prime Minister Modi-led government to clarify the India-US trade deal that cuts US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent from 50 percent – which Trump says is in exchange for India suspending purchases of Russian oil.
Pressing for the need for more clarity, the Congress MP told news agency ANI: “I want to know what it contains. The opposition is only asking for clarity. We don’t know what the agreement contains. We have Mr Trump’s tweet and Mr Modi’s tweet; is that enough in a parliamentary democracy? Shouldn’t the Indian government come and explain to the people of this country what the deal is?”
Tharoor further said that the news was welcome, but argued that its impact on farmers, trade and agriculture should be explained by the government with full “transparency”.
“Mr. Trump says it’s for agriculture, so what are the protections for Indian farmers? Mr. Trump says $500 billion, our entire import bill is $700 billion, so we stop buying from all other countries? We’d like to celebrate if it’s good news, but let us be clear,” he said.
He stressed the need for the government to “take Parliament into confidence and explain clearly what was agreed”, saying the lack of an official statement had fueled the controversy. Pointing to the prevailing uncertainty, Tharoor said, “Right now there is apprehension because there is no clarity – the Congress is asking the questions and the BJP is not providing the answers,” describing it as a “fundamental issue”.
India-US trade agreement
After months of negotiations, Trump announced on Monday that the US would cut reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 percent from 25 percent after New Delhi “agreed to stop buying oil from Russia.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump said, agreed that India would “BUY AMERICAN at a much higher level” while also agreeing to buy over $500 billion worth of American energy, including coal, as well as technology, agricultural goods and other products.
He added that India would also move to cut trade barriers, saying, “They will likewise move to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers to the United States to ZERO,” Trump said of India.
Modi welcomed the new 18 percent tariff in a post on X; however, he did not mention Russian oil or Trump’s claim that India would remove its tariffs on American goods.