Jairam Ramesh slams India-US trade deal over Russian oil import halt

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised the India-US trade deal, saying India will stop importing Russian oil and slash import duties on US farm products. He termed the deal a diplomatic failure, stating it would hurt Indian farmers and the economy.

Jairam Ramesh Criticises Trade Framework

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday criticised the announced framework for the India-US trade deal, raising concerns over India's purchase of oil from Russia as the White House confirmed that India had agreed to stop importing Russian oil.

In an X post, Jairam Ramesh said that the reduction in import duties on agricultural products will benefit American farmers at the cost of their Indian counterparts. The Congress MP wrote, "The United States-India Joint Statement just issued is silent on details. But from what has been revealed, it is clear that: India will no longer import oil from Russia. Separately, the US has announced that a 25 per cent penalty could be reimposed if India buys oil directly or indirectly from Russia."

'Dost Dost Na Raha': A Diplomatic Failure?

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that the "photo-ops" did not amount to much benefits for India, hinting at a failure of diplomacy. "India will slash import duties to help American farmers at the cost of Indian farmers. India's annual imports from the USA will triple, wiping out our longstanding goods trade surplus. There will continue to be great uncertainty on India's exports of IT and other services to the US. India's exports of goods to the US will face higher duties than before. All the hugs and photo-ops have not amounted to much. Namaste Trump has scored over Howdy Modi. Dost dost na raha (A friend is friend no more)," he added.

Framework for Interim Agreement Announced

This comes after India and the US announced a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The joint statement said that the framework reaffirms the countries' commitment to the broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, launched by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, which will include additional market access commitments and support more resilient supply chains.

Key Terms of the Agreement

As per the joint statement, the US will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 per cent on Indian originating goods, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products, and certain machinery. The United States will also remove tariffs on certain aircraft and aircraft parts from India, which were imposed to address national security threats, the joint statement said.

According to the statement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of S food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products. India also intends to purchase USD 500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years. (ANI)

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