India-US trade deal: Piyush Goyal says it will open huge opportunities for poor, fishermen, farmers; slams Rahul Gandhi

The India–US trade deal will be a major growth opportunity for India’s ‘sensitive sectors’, such as agriculture and fisheries, as well as for the youth and the poor, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said during a press briefing on Tuesday. Without disclosing specifics of the understanding reached with Washington, Goyal said the trade deal was in its final stages and that an India–US joint statement outlining the contours of the agreement would be released soon.

Goyal further said that the government wanted to make a statement in the House but was interrupted due to ‘ugly scenes' created by the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, and other opposition parties. The Lok Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions for the second consecutive day after Rahul Gandhi attempted to read excerpts from former Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished book, including passages related to the 2020 India–China military stand-off in Ladakh.

At least eight Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) were suspended for ‘unruly’ behaviour, earlier in the day.

Terming it a ‘good deal’, he said the agreement could only be reached because of the ‘personal relationship between the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump’.

Calling the trade deal a ‘good omen’ for India’s bright future, the Commerce Minister added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had concluded the long-awaited agreement with the US and that the entire nation was congratulating him.

The Commerce Minister’s remarks come amid mounting pressure from the Opposition, which has been seeking clarifications from the government on the trade deal and raising concerns over the agriculture sector and the purchase of oil from Russia.

This follows India and the US reaching a trade agreement that reduced tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent.

In a social media post, Trump said, “India will ‘likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers against the United States, to zero’.”

Washington on Monday brought months of tariff negotiations to an end, claiming that under the US–India trade deal, tariffs on Indian goods would be slashed to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, while also asserting that New Delhi would halt the purchase of Russian oil and increase imports of American goods.

In response, PM Modi hailed the deal as ‘wonderful’ news on tariff reduction; however, there was no mention of Russian oil or the US claim that India would eliminate its levies on American goods.