Sharma Urges Govt Clarity on Trump's India Trade Claims

New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked the government to clarify and take opposition leaders into confidence regarding US President Donald Trump's claim that a "very big" trade deal will be signed soon that will "open up" India.

Sharma, a former commerce minister, said an India-US trade deal should be mutually rewarding and not "suboptimal under pressure".

"President Trump's claim of sweeping Indian tariff concessions in the proposed trade deal and "opening up" India needs to be clarified by the government and leadership of opposition parties be taken in confidence," Sharma, the Congress' senior spokesperson, said in a post on X.

Sharma said India's national interests must be protected, and it must also continue to uphold and strengthen a rules-based multilateral trade regime and honour WTO agreements.

"It is equally important that India engages the partner countries and major trading blocs and regions: EU, ASEAN, Africa Union, GCC and LAC to deepen market access and trade," he said.

Trump has said that America is going to have a "very big" trade deal with India, hinting at significant progress in the negotiation process of a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.

"We're having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India, a very big one, where we're going to open up India," Trump said during an event at the White House promoting the passage of the GOP's tax and spending cuts legislation on Thursday.


Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh earlier took a swipe at the government, saying it seems that India gets to know decisions of great importance to it from the White House.

"He calls it a 'very big deal.' It better be - given that it led to the abrupt end of Operation Sindoor," Ramesh said on X.

"As is now becoming evident, India has to get to know decisions of great importance to it from the White House in Washington DC," the Congress leader said.

Trump's remarks come as an Indian team headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal on Thursday arrived in Washington for the next round of trade talks with the US.

Agarwal is the special secretary in the department of commerce.

India and the US are engaged in negotiations for an interim trade deal and are trying to finalise a pact before July 9.

The high tariffs announced by the US on April 2 were suspended by the Trump administration till July 9.

The two countries are looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement by September-October this year. The pact is aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.