The Congress on Tuesday cautioned the Narendra Modi-led government against rushing into a trade agreement with the US, alleging that the proposed deal disproportionately favours Washington and could harm Indian farmers and domestic industries.
The warning coincided with the arrival of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New Delhi for bilateral trade talks. Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh claimed that the India-US joint statement issued on February 6, 2026, envisaged major concessions from India in exchange for reduced tariffs on Indian exports. According to Ramesh, Washington had pledged to cut tariffs on Indian exports from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, while India agreed to either eliminate or sharply reduce tariffs on US agricultural and industrial goods, and significantly increase imports from America over the next five years.
However, Ramesh argued that this understanding was undermined when the US Supreme Court, on February 20, declared President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff strategy illegal. “The very tariff concession that the US had offered India effectively disappeared overnight,” he said.
He noted that the US subsequently imposed a temporary 10 per cent tariff on imports from all trading partners, including India, and stressed that uncertainty persists over the future tariff regime, as the legal basis for the measure is set to expire next month.
Questioning the reliability of any future agreement, Ramesh pointed out that the US had threatened tariffs even against allies such as Japan and the EU despite existing trade arrangements. “Even if a deal is signed, what guarantee is there that tariffs will not be imposed or threatened again?” he questioned.
