The Congress on Tuesday demanded the Modi government put the texts of both the US and EU trade deals before Parliament and allow debate on their terms. The party said MPs and the public have a right to know the details of any commitments that affect industry, farmers and national policy.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in charge of communications, accused the prime minister of having “completely surrendered,” citing comments by US President Donald Trump. Ramesh recalled Prime Minister Modi’s White House visit after Trump’s re-election and said relations seemed strong then, with trade talks beginning soon after. He said ties began to fray after what Ramesh described as the halt to Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, and Trump’s subsequent outreach to Pakistan and Field Marshal Asim Munir — developments Ramesh said exposed “the hollowness” of Mr. Modi’s foreign-policy approach.
Ramesh noted that Trump announced the US-India trade understanding late in Indian time and accused the prime minister of appeasing the US president. He demanded that the full texts of both the EU and US agreements be tabled in both Houses while Parliament is in session so they can be examined and debated. Ramesh also pointed to a statement by US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins claiming India had liberalised agricultural imports from the United States and asked what protections, if any, had been secured for Indian farmers.
Reacting to Trump’s announcement that the US and India had reached a trade deal, Ramesh said it looked as if the prime minister had “capitulated finally” and insisted the pact could not be the “father of all deals.” He used the phrase “clearly Mogambo Khush Hai” in a critical aside. The Congress highlighted Trump’s claim that the deal was done “on Modi’s request” and flagged a Trump statement that India would move to reduce reciprocal tariffs on US goods to zero — a step the party said would amount to fully opening India’s market and could have wide consequences for manufacturers, traders and farmers.
The party asked whether the government had agreed to changes in energy procurement — including reports that India would stop buying oil from Russia and instead source from the US and Venezuela — and what those choices would mean for the “Make in India” initiative if Delhi commits to buying more US products.
In a separate exchange, Trump said after a call with PM Modi that Washington would reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18% from 25%, and PM Modi was quoted as saying he was pleased that “made-in-India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent.”
The Congress also referred to the India-EU free trade agreement sealed on January 27, described by others as the “mother of all deals,” which aims to create a market of about two billion people and advance a joint five-year agenda linking trade and defence. Given the strategic and economic stakes, the Congress reiterated its demand for transparency: publish the agreements, place them before both Houses, and allow full parliamentary scrutiny and debate.
