The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
US-India Trade Deal – Attack on our Sovereignty
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.
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.
Apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states are already suffering due to trade agreements signed earlier with countries such as New Zealand. 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.
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.
This trade deal is a blow to our sovereignty, as the US is dictating our policies, including decisions on our purchase of oil from Russia. The Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump establishes a monitoring mechanism to assess our compliance with these dictates and threatens the imposition of tariffs if they are violated. This is a shameful surrender by the BJP-led government.
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) reiterates 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.