• Source:JND

The Congress party on Saturday took a dig at the ruling government over the India-US interim trade deal framework by saying that many details of the deal have been kept away from the public eye. Senior Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh said that the terms of the trade deal are unfavourable for India and will adversely impact India’s energy policy, farmers, and trade balance. Terming the deal as insignificant, the Congress said, "all the hugs and photo-ops have not amounted to much". The opposition also taunted the government with the iconic line from the 1964 film Sangam, Dost dost na raha. 

What Did The Opposition Say?

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, pointed out many glaring defects in the deal. But from what has been revealed, it is clear that India will no longer import oil from Russia. However, the US has made it very clear that the 25 per cent penalty could be reimposed if India buys oil directly or indirectly from Russia.

Ramesh further said that the import duties on American agricultural goods have been lowered, which is set to have a massive effect on the Indian farmers.

The annual imports from the USA will increase threefold, but at the same time, it will erase the trade surplus of India. There will continue to be great uncertainty on India's exports of IT and other services to the US. The Senior Congress leader also said that India’s exports to the US will face a higher import duty after the deal. 

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India-US Joint Statement

India and the US on Saturday issued a joint statement announcing a framework for a trade agreement under which both countries will reduce import duties on several goods. The Union Minister of Commerce shared the statement on his official X account.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on the recent developments of the Indo-US trade agreement and said that the deal will strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative and strengthen the Indian farmers, entrepreneurs, MSMEs, and Startup innovators by opening new doors for all these sectors. The deal will also open up large-scale employment opportunities for women and youngsters.

“I thank President Trump for his personal commitment to robust ties between our countries. India and the United States share a commitment to promoting innovation, and this framework will further deepen investment and technology partnerships between us,” PM Modi added. 

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India-US Interim Trade Deal

  • According to the trade deal, Washington has removed the 25 per cent additional tariffs that were imposed on India last August for purchasing Russian oil, citing that New Delhi has taken ‘significant’ steps to stop the Russian oil economy. 
  • The import duties on Indian goods were brought down from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. 
  • According to the joint statement, the two countries will "promptly" implement this framework and work towards finalising the interim agreement, concluding a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).Meanwhile, India also reduced import duties on several American goods, including agricultural products such as dried distillers' grains, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine, and spirits.

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