Put India-US trade deal on hold, renegotiate terms: Congress

The Congress on Saturday demanded that the government put the interim trade agreement on hold and renegotiate the terms of the deal after the US Supreme Court invalidated the reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald TrumpCongress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government must also ensure that the interests of Indian farmers are fully protected during the renegotiations and asked the government to categorically state that it will not allow any import liberalisation to the American sideSpeaking with reporters here Ramesh questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the entire deal and said he should clarify on whether he agrees with Trumps statement that nothing changes in the trade deal with IndiaDoes Modi agree with Trump that the trade agreement with India still holds the Congress leader asked while pointing out there was no response from the government so farClaiming that the IndiaUS interim agreement will adversely affect the Indian farmers and put their livelihood in jeopardy he said the government should put this deal on hold till clarifications are made and called for renegotiating the deal afreshThe US Supreme Court decision is very significant and our government must keep this trade agreement on holdWe demand that the PM should categorically state that Indias policy after the US Supreme Court decision will be reviewed and we will not carry out import liberalisation till clarifications come Ramesh said adding that this is to protect and safeguard the livelihood of lakhs of farmers in the countryHe referred to the special concessions provided to the US agricultural products that threaten the livelihood of our farmers He said the trade agreement mentions that the tariffs will be reduced or completely eliminated on farm products including cotton soybean and fruitsThe Congress leader also questioned the tearing hurry shown by Modi in getting the trade deal announced by Trump on February 2He attributed this to Modis panic and to divert attention from Rahul Gandhis speech in Parliament the same day quoting the sensational revelations made by former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane that Prime Minister had abdicated his responsibility while telling him jo uchit samjho who Karo do whatever you think is right on Chinese aggression at the borderThe first question arises is why did the prime minister was in a hurry to announce this he saidThe US Supreme Court on Saturday struck down Trumps global tariffs saying it is against the American Constitution Ramesh saidOur 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 he askedThe 10 per cent tariff would be imposed on imports and as per law this will be for 150 days he saidHe observed that there was nothing to celebrate about the ten percent tariff from the 18 percent as these had actually gone from 35 percent to ten percentReferring to Trumps statement after the Supreme Court decision that the IndoUS Trade Agreement still holds Ramesh asserted that Modi must say in clear and unambiguous terms that the Framework of Interim Agreement cannot be implemented under current circumstances in view of the US Supreme Courts decisionAfter the US Supreme Court struck down Trumps global tariffs Gandhi accused Modi of being compromised saying his betrayal in the IndiaUS interim trade deal stood exposedCongress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said after the US Supreme Court quashed presidential powers to impose tariffs under the IEEPA International Emergency Economic Powers Act 1977 Trump has announced the imposition of 10 per cent additional tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act 1974The simple questions are are these tariffs sustainable vizaviz India Can these tariff provisions be justifiably applied to IndiaWill these new tariffs still hold the USIndia Trade Deal Framework Agreement which is being widely opposed by farmers small and medium businesses energy and data experts and economists alike he posted on XWill the Modi government now show the courage to walk out of a onesided USIndia Trade Deal Surjewala askedHe also asked if the Modi government will now declare in national interest that it will buy cheaper Russian and Iranian crude oil with a view to ensure energy security of the countryWill the Modi government declare that it will no longer withdraw nontariff barriers ie withdraw the meagre subsidy on agriculture or permit import of genetically modified crops into India thereby protecting our seed integrity purity and biodiversity Will the Modi Government now declare that it is no longer under an obligation to import USD 500 billion worth of American goods Rs 45 lakh crore over the next 5 years on zero tariff he askedIn a major setback to what was Trumps pivotal economic agenda in his second term the US Supreme Court in a 63 verdict ruled that tariffs imposed by Trump on nations around the world were illegal and that the president had exceeded his authorityShortly after the court verdict Trump asserted that there is no change in the trade deal with IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever