Immediately pause Indo-US interim trade deal, renegotiate terms: Congress
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Immediately pause Indo-US interim trade deal, renegotiate terms: Congress")
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh Photograph: (ANI (File Photo)
Ramesh accused PM Modi of being "so desperate to protect his delicate image" and suggested that if he had "simply waited another 18 days, Indian farmers could have been spared this pain and crisis.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday (Feb 21) called on the central government to immediately pause the Indo-US interim trade framework, citing a recent ruling of the US Supreme Court, which struck down Donald Trump's global tariffs.
"We demand that in view of the Supreme Court's decision on the tariff, the Modi government should immediately put the Indo-US framework of interim agreement on hold. Use the clause in the joint statement and renegotiate the deal to eliminate liberalisation of imports in agriculture," Ramesh said, speaking to reporters, ANI reported.
Earlier in the day, the Congress leader questioned the timing of the India-US trade deal. In a social media post, Ramesh cited remarks made by the US President after the US Supreme Court ruling.
"Yesterday after the US Supreme Court struck down his tariffs policy, President Trump declared that (i) Mr. Modi is his great friend; (ii) the India-US trade deal will continue as announced; (iii) he had personally halted Operation Sindoor on May 10 2025 by threatening to increase tariffs on Indian exports to the US if India did not halt Operation Sindoor," Ramesh wrote on X.
"On Feb 2 2026, President Trump was the first to announce that the India-US trade deal had been finalised, saying that 'out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, AS PER HIS REQUEST, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India." He added.
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Ramesh asked, "What exactly was the compulsion that made Prime Minister Modi ensure that it was President Trump who announced the India-US trade deal on the night of 2 February 2026 (Indian time)? What happened in the Lok Sabha that afternoon that made PM Modi so anxious that he contacted his ‘good friend’ in the White House and created a distracting situation?"
The Congress communication chief accused PM Modi of being "so desperate to protect his delicate image" and suggested that if he had "simply waited another 18 days, Indian farmers could have been spared this pain and crisis, and India’s sovereignty could have remained secure".
These remarks from the opposition party came after the US Supreme Court on Friday struck down the tariffs Trump had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), saying it "does not authorise the President to impose tariffs."
On February 2, India and the United States agreed on an interim trade framework, bringing down President Trump's punitive tariffs on Indian exports from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.
