'Govt compromised country's sovereignty': Congress launches campaign against India-US trade deal

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday launched the first phase of its campaign against the interim India-US trade deal with senior leaders alleging that the Modi government "compromised" the country's sovereignty and self-reliance.

The opposition party claimed that the deal will hurt the interests of farmers in the country, alleging that the opening of the agriculture sector will help the US flood its agri products, including genetically modified ones, into the Indian market.

As part of the party's campaign, senior leaders addressed press conferences over the issue in several states across the country.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addressed a presser in Srinagar, while party general secretary Sachin Pilot addressed another one at Mumbai and Deepender Hooda in Patna.

The second phase of the campaign will be launched this weekend when three more press conferences by senior party leaders are planned in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, sources said.

Sukhu claimed that the interim trade deal with the US has shattered the dreams of farmers and orchardists in the country, particulary in his state and in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The trade deal will have significant consequences for farmers, especially those in Himachal Pradesh and J&K, who rely on horticulture," Sukhu told reporters.

He said many local fruit growers have invested years of hard work and resources, building Controlled Atmosphere storage facilities to sell their products in the off-season, he said.

Sukhu claimed that products imported from the US, including apples and almonds, will enter the Indian market without incurring any import duties. In contrast, Indian growers will face an 18 per cent duty when exporting to the US, putting them at a significant disadvantage, he said.

"They (government) say they would safeguard the interests of the farmers and orchardists, but this trade deal has dealt a severe blow to them. Prices for our dry fruits have already fallen and will continue to decline further with the entry of American products into our markets duty-free," he said.

Congress leader Pilot in Mumbai criticised the trade deal saying trade agreements must be based on equality and mutual public interest, and cannot come at the cost of national interest or sovereignty.

"No trade pact that mortgages the country’s interests can be acceptable. Any agreement that attacks the livelihood of farmers, undermines energy security or weakens India’s sovereignty and self-reliance will not be accepted by the people," he said.

There have been non-Congress governments earlier, but never before has the "red line" been crossed in trade agreements, bilateral agreements, WTO negotiations or FTAs in a way that put the country's food providers and dairy farmers on the margins, Pilot claimed.

Under the February 6 "framework agreement" with the US, the Modi government has agreed to open India’s agricultural market to American farm and food products at zero duty, said Pilot while terming this a direct blow to Indian farmers.

He claimed duty-free imports of products such as processed maize, sorghum and soybean oil from the US would adversely affect domestic producers across several states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Pilot also raised concerns that cotton imports from the US and changes in textile trade dynamics involving Bangladesh could hurt India’s farmers and textile industry.

"Opening imports of fruits, nuts and other agricultural produce from the US without tariffs would impact growers in states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and across other regions producing bananas, groundnuts and horticulture crops," he added.

Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda said in Patna that the trade deal would make the country "dependent on America".

"The trade deal has made the people wonder whether we would achieve an 'America Nirbhar Bharat' instead of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We seem to have a 'majboor sarkaar' instead of mazboot sarkaar," alleged Hooda.

The Congress leader claimed that the deal "compromised the interests of our farmers, imperilled the country's energy security and put India's data privacy and digital economy at risk".

"The trade deal also compels India to buy oil from the US, without any assurance that prices will be as competitive as those already on offer from Russia and Iran. The deal has also warned India of a fresh penalty if oil is imported, directly or indirectly, from Russia. The nation wants to know why the government has agreed to such terms and conditions," said Hooda.