The Congress on February 4 called on the Centre to disclose the full details of the India–US trade agreement, cautioning that the farming community must be clearly informed about how the deal could affect their livelihoods. The party warned that any compromise on sensitive sectors could place an added burden on farmers across the country.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi raised the issue while speaking to ANI in Guwahati after the launch of the “whoishbs” website. Stressing the need for transparency, Gogoi said farmers deserve to know what concessions India may have made under the agreement. “The details should be out. What has India sacrificed? Farmers want to understand how much burden they may have to bear because of this trade deal,” he said, underlining concerns that agricultural interests could be adversely impacted.
His remarks come close on the heels of India signing a major trade agreement with the European Union and amid heightened focus on India’s expanding global trade engagements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following discussions with US President Donald Trump in Washington, described the talks as positive and expressed hope that Indian products would gain improved access to the US market.
Responding to criticism, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal earlier assured Parliament that the interests of India’s agriculture and dairy sectors had been safeguarded in the agreement with the United States. According to official information, the deal предусматриes a reduction in tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, while certain US agricultural, coal and other products could see tariff cuts to zero.
The agreement emerged after the United States imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 18 per cent on Indian exports, triggering negotiations to ease trade tensions. Addressing concerns in the Lok Sabha, Goyal said the deal was the result of nearly two years of discussions and maintained that adequate protections had been built in to shield sensitive sectors of the Indian economy.
