Gandhi on US-India Trade Deal: ‘We have Surrendered’

On 6 Feb, the US and India released a joint statement outlining the broad understanding reached between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding their trade deal. On 9 Feb, the White House issued a detailed fact sheet that included some commitments that were either not mentioned or described differently in the joint statement. On 10 Feb, the White House quietly updated the fact sheet. The changes between the fact sheet and update are: 1) the fact sheet said India would 'commit' to buying USD 500B worth of US products; the update says India 'intends' to buy these goods. 2) The update has deleted India would 'remove its digital services tax'. 3) The update has also deleted India's commitment to importing pulses from the US. However, the update says India has agreed to 'eliminate or reduce tariffs' on US industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural products, including Dried Distillers’ Grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine, and spirits. The joint statement had said that red sorghum imports from the US would be limited to ‘animal feed’ but the update does not say that, thus raising concerns about agricultural imports to India. Punjab Agriculture University Vice Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal is apprehensive about allowing DDGs since it is a genetically modified product which would impact India's poultry and cattle sectors. A farmer unions' alliance Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Jagmohan Singh said, 'Allowing DDGs is allowing GM technology through the back door which is against the spirit of anti GM-free agriculture policy.' In a response in the Indian Parliament, the union government stated that most Indian states are 19–97% deficient in animal fodder though Panjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh are surplus. The US has offered Bangladesh, India's biggest cotton buyer, a 0% tariff if it switches to US cotton, compromising Indian cotton sales. India’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said by agreeing to buying US oil, allowing free flow of Indian data to the US, limiting digital taxes, removing the requirement to disclose source codes, and jeopardizing the textile sector which now faces an 18% tariff from the earlier 3%, the government has surrendered to the US and ‘sold Bharat Mata (Mother India) (earlier coverage).