The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday claimed that India has made “sweeping concessions” to the US in the interim trade agreement between the two nations, posing a “serious threat to our economy, agriculture, and national sovereignty”.
In a statement, the Left party said the Narendra Modi Government should not go ahead with the deal, and it should be presented before Parliament. India and the US announced on Saturday that they have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement, under which both sides will reduce import duties on a number of goods to boost the two-way trade.
“As details of the Indo-US trade deal slowly emerge, it is becoming evident that the BJP-led Union Government has made sweeping concessions to the United States in the so-called ‘interim deal’. These concessions pose a serious threat to India’s economy, agriculture, and national sovereignty,” the CPI(M) said in a statement issued by its Politburo.
“Even according to the partial information available in the public domain, the Indian Government has agreed not to levy any tariff (zero tariff) on US exports of fruits, cotton, tree nuts, soybean oil, and certain other food and agricultural products.” This decision will severely damage the livelihoods of lakhs of apple growers, cotton and soy farmers across the country, the party said. The CPI(M) said apple farmers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states are already suffering due to trade agreements signed earlier with countries such as New Zealand, and the present deal with the US will further destroy their livelihoods.
Cotton farmers, already burdened by rising input costs and deepening agrarian distress, will face similar devastation, it said.
The CPI(M) added that reports also indicate that the Indian Government has agreed to remove non-tariff barriers on food and agricultural products.
“This would effectively mean a rollback of support and subsidies for Indian farmers, exposing them to competition from heavily subsidised US farm products and making Indian agriculture increasingly unviable,” it said.
The Left party said the trade deal “is a blow to our sovereignty, as the US is dictating our policies, including decisions on our purchase of oil from Russia”.
“This is a shameful surrender by the BJP-led Government,” the Left party said. “It is highly deplorable that the Government has committed to increasing its dependence on US defence supplies, which will be detrimental to India’s strategic interests.”
The CPI(M) reiterated its demand that the complete details of the deal be placed immediately before Parliament and made public.
“The Government must be compelled to desist from signing any agreement that is harmful to the interests of Indian workers, farmers, and the people at large,” it added.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said adequate safeguards are in place in the trade agreement with the US to protect the interests of farmers and the domestic industry from any significant increase in imports.
The trade deal with the US will “ultimately help our farmers”, who are already exporting USD 50-55 billion worth of agricultural and fish products, he said.