New Delhi, 23 June (H.S.):

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday alleged that the United States is using trade investigations that violate established legal norms to pressure India into signing the trade agreement announced on February 6. He claimed that the proposed deal is against India's national interests and would cause serious harm to farmers across several states. He said India should avoid falling into the trap of such a trade agreement and instead learn from Malaysia, which rejected its trade deal with the United States following a ruling by the US Supreme Court.

In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh said India is among nearly 60 countries currently under investigation by the United States over allegations of unfair trade practices that allegedly violate US trade laws. He said the final findings of these investigations are expected within the next few weeks. According to him, while the United States has made very few concrete commitments, India is being compelled to commit to increasing its existing annual imports from the US by at least three times.

Ramesh further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to issue a joint statement with the United States under pressure after Rahul Gandhi raised the China issue in Parliament. He claimed that under the joint statement, the United States promised to reduce tariffs on Indian exports from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, while India agreed to eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs on American agricultural and industrial products and committed to purchasing goods worth up to USD 500 billion from the United States over the next five years.

He said that on February 20, the US Supreme Court declared President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff policy illegal, resulting in the tariff concessions offered to India becoming ineffective overnight. Following the ruling, the United States imposed a temporary 10 per cent tariff on India and all its other trading partners. According to Ramesh, the legal basis for these tariffs is set to expire on July 24.

Ramesh further stated that despite having trade agreements with Japan and the European Union, the United States has threatened to raise tariffs on them as well. In such a situation, he said, India should not be lured into signing any trade agreement that runs contrary to the country's interests. He urged the Modi government to take inspiration from Malaysia, which rejected its proposed trade deal with the United States after the US Supreme Court's ruling.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar