India-US Trade Deal Big Update: White House revises key terms, clarifies position on pulses, agriculture in India trade deal factsheet

The changes came a day after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge slammed BJP over the framework of the Interim Trade Agreement with Washington.

New Delhi: In a significant move, the Donald Trump administration in the United States has reportedly revised its factsheet on the “key terms” of the India-US trade deal. The US has dropped the claim that New Delhi would reduce tariffs on certain pulses and alter wording relating to the USD 500 billion purchase commitment, among other things. It is important to note that the revisions in the factsheet are significant, given that agricultural imports, particularly pulses, are sensitive for India’s farm sector.

The White House on Tuesday released a factsheet outlining the key terms of the pact. This comes days after India and the US unveiled a framework for a reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade agreement. The document stated that India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a broad range of American food and agricultural products.

In its initial version, the factsheet stated, “India committed to buy more American products and purchase over USD 500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products.”

ALSO READ: Silent Attack! Did India retaliate against Donald Trump by taxing US pulses?

Notably, the version currently available on the White House website says India “intends” to buy more American products. It also omits the term “agricultural” from the list of product categories. Similarly, the earlier version noted that, “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products”.

In another significant change, the original factsheet mentioned, “India will remove its digital services taxes” and “committed to negotiate a robust set of bilateral digital trade rules that address discriminatory or burdensome practices and other barriers to digital trade”.

Congress Slammed the Modi Government over the Framework of the Interim Trade Agreement:

• The changes came a day after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge slammed BJP over the framework of the Interim Trade Agreement with Washington.
• Kharge said the trade pact undermined India’s strategic autonomy, farmers, cattle, and the textile sector.
• He called the deal a “PR-wrapped betrayal” and questioned whether it protects India’s strategic and economic interests.
• The Congress leader raised concerns over agriculture, alleging that pulses and genetically modified (GM) feed, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) and red sorghum for animal feed, have been silently added to the deal.
• He noted that the White House factsheet on the deal mentioned conditions not included in the earlier Indo-US Joint Statement.

“We were told that the Indo-US Joint Statement said nothing on Russian oil, even though Mr. Trump publicly tweeted otherwise. Now the White House fact sheet clearly lists “India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil” as a condition for removal of an additional 25 per cent tariff. The Modi government agreed to this erosion of India’s sovereignty. Why? The Congress party had already exposed the Executive Order placing India under US monitoring for direct or indirect oil imports,” he said in a post on X.

India’s Stand:

The Modi government has assured the interests of Indian farmers will be fully protected. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had pointed out that the farm sector hasn’t been opened fully and the sectors where India is self-sufficient have been kept outside the deal.

“I can say with absolute certainty that our farmers, artisans, and handloom industry will not suffer any harm,” Goyal said at a briefing, describing the trade deal as “fair, equitable, and balanced.”