New Delhi, February 21 – Following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn President Donald Trump's global tariffs, the Congress on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi put the India-US interim trade agreement on hold and renegotiate its terms.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, stated that the government must clearly state that no import liberalization will occur until there are clear clarifications from the US side, ensuring that Indian farmers' interests are protected.
Speaking to reporters, Ramesh called for clarification from the government regarding the India-US interim trade deal and urged for its renegotiation. He asked Modi to clarify whether he agrees with Trump's statement that nothing changes in the trade deal with India.
Asserting that the India-US interim agreement will negatively affect farmers, Ramesh said the government should put the deal on hold until clarifications are made.
"We demand that the Prime Minister categorically state that we will not carry out import liberalization after the Supreme Court decision, as there is a rethink in India's policy, and we will not carry out import liberalization until clarifications are made," Ramesh said.
"On February 2, President Trump announced the deal, stating that he was happy that a deal had been reached and that, at the Prime Minister's request, it would be effective immediately," he added, emphasizing the importance of the chronology of events.
"Our first question is why the Prime Minister was in such a hurry to announce this," Ramesh said.
"We believe that this was linked to Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the Lok Sabha regarding China and former Army Chief Naravane's book. We believe that in order to divert from that, Prime Minister Modi requested Trump to announce this," Ramesh said.
The US Supreme Court on Saturday struck down Trump's global tariffs, stating that it is against the American Constitution, Ramesh said.
"Our second question is that when the Prime Minister and the Commerce Minister (Piyush Goyal) knew from December that a Supreme Court verdict could come at any time, many believed that it could be struck down. Why did you hastily reach a deal when you knew the verdict could go against Trump," Ramesh said.
The 10 per cent tariff would be imposed on imports, and it would be in effect for 150 days, he said.
"Trump has also stated that nothing changes for the Indo-US trade deal. So we want to ask the Prime Minister, does he agree with his friend's statement that the verdict will have no impact on the deal," Ramesh said.
The framework states that in the event of any changes from either side, the US and India agree that they can modify its commitments, Ramesh pointed out.
Following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn President Donald Trump's global tariffs, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "compromised", stating that Modi's "betrayal" in the India-US interim trade deal was exposed.
The Congress has alleged that the trade deal had become an "ordeal" for the country due to the Prime Minister's "desperation and surrender".
This represents a major setback to what was Trump's pivotal economic agenda in his second term. The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that the tariffs imposed by Trump on nations around the world were illegal, and that the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.
Earlier this month, as the US and India announced they had reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on trade, Trump issued an Executive Order removing the 25 per cent punitive tariffs imposed on India for its purchases of Russian oil, with the US president noting New Delhi's commitment to stop importing energy directly or indirectly from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.
Under the trade deal, Washington would charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on New Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
Shortly after the court verdict, Trump asserted that there is "no change" in the trade deal with India.
"I think my relationship with India is fantastic and we're doing trade with India... India was getting its oil from Russia. And they pulled way back at my request, because we want to settle that horrible war where 25,000 people are dying every month," Trump said at a news conference Friday in the White House.
Trump said his relationship with Prime Minister Modi "is great". He then went on to repeat the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan last summer using tariffs.
When asked about the deal with India, Trump said, "Nothing changes. They'll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs."
"This is a reversal for what it used to be, as you know, India -- and I think Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, a great man, actually. But he was much smarter than the people that he was against in terms of the United States, he was ripping us off.
"So we made a deal with India. It's a fair deal now," Trump said.