Congress Demands EU-US Trade Deals Be Tabled In Parliament

The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Modi government take Parliament into confidence, insisting that the full texts of the proposed EU and US trade agreements be tabled in both Houses and debated.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that details disclosed by US President Donald Trump make it “abundantly clear” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “completely surrendered”.

Ramesh recalled that almost exactly a year ago, Modi visited the White House to congratulate Trump on his re-election.

“His trademark huglomacy was on full display. India-US relations never appeared brighter. Negotiations for a trade deal started immediately thereafter. But ever since President Trump made the first announcement of the halt to Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10, 2025 things began to go downhill,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

He said Trump later publicly embraced Pakistan and Field Marshal Asim Munir, “exposing the hollowness of Mr. Modi’s huglomacy”.

Ramesh also pointed out that Trump announced the trade deal late on Monday night, Indian time.

“From the information President Trump has provided, it is abundantly clear that Prime Minister Modi has – like he did on May 10, 2025 – completely surrendered. He has most definitely appeased President Trump. India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events,” he claimed.

With Parliament currently in session, Ramesh reiterated that the texts of both the EU and US trade agreements must be placed before both Houses for discussion, “especially since the US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has issued a statement claiming that India has liberalised agricultural imports from the US”.

Reacting to Trump’s announcement that India and the US had reached a trade deal, Ramesh said on Monday night that the prime minister appeared to have “capitulated finally” and that this “cannot be the father of all deals”.

He also remarked, “clearly Mogambo Khush Hai”, a reference to a popular dialogue from the 1987 Hindi film Mr India.

In a separate post on X, the Congress said the country has a right to know the details of the agreement.

“Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done ‘on Modi’s request’,” the party said.

“Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non tariff barriers against the United States to ‘zero’. It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers,” it added.

The Congress also flagged references to opening up the agriculture sector to the US and questioned the exact terms of the agreement.

“How has the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?” the party asked.

It further pointed to claims that India would stop buying oil from Russia and instead source it from the US and Venezuela, asking whether the Modi government had agreed to such a condition.

“In addition, there is talk of buying more goods from America. If that’s the case, then what happened to ‘Make in India’?” the party said.

“The Modi government must take the Parliament and the entire country into confidence and share all the details,” Ramesh added.

Trump said on Monday that India and the US had agreed to a trade deal under which Washington would cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, following a phone conversation with Modi.

Modi, in turn, said he was delighted that “made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent”.

The announcement came just months after India and the European Union, on January 27, concluded a landmark free trade agreement — described as the “mother of all deals” — aimed at creating a market of two billion people, with Modi and senior EU leaders unveiling a five-year agenda centred on trade and defence cooperation to uphold a rules-based world order.

(with PTI inputs)