Chaos, Slogans In Parliament As Piyush Goyal Tries To Speak On India-US Trade Deal

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm amid chaos and fierce protests from opposition MPs demanding details about the impact of the India-United States trade agreement on the agriculture sector. As Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal rose to address the House on that topic, opposition benches began shouting protests and slogans, drowning out his remarks.

In the few minutes he managed to make himself heard, he stressed the government had protected farmers' interests.

Today is a third consecutive day Parliament has seen adjournments amid protests by the opposition.

On Monday and Tuesday the disruptions were over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's demands to read excerpts from an unpublished book – on the India-China border stand-off in Ladakh in 2020 – written by ex-Army chief General MM Naravane.

Today the opposition questioned the lack of clarity in a trade agreement – which will see US reciprocal tariffs drop to 18 per cent – that was previously held up over Washington demanding access to price-sensitive agriculture and dairy markets.

Echoing remarks from last evening's press conference, Goyal said the government had ensured the agriculture and dairy sector's interests had been protected, and that the new deal would also open new markets in labour-intensive sectors like textiles, jewellery, and engineering.

"The India-US trade deal will help promote initiatives like 'make in India' and 'design in India'… and provide opportunities for MSMEs," Goyal said to a soundtrack of protesting opposition MPs.

Goyal also pointed out the new tariff – the date of implementation of which is still unclear – was lower than that imposed on other countries exporting to the US, particularly those operating in key sectors like textiles. He offered neighbouring nations Vietnam and Bangladesh as examples, saying the former still faces a reciprocal tariff of 20 per cent and the latter 19 per cent.

The opposition has mounted fierce protests since the deal was announced, with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi even accusing the government of having "sold out" India's farmers' interests.

In a series of scathing remarks to reporters yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition said, "Modiji is rattled... India-US trade deal stalled for the past few months... was signed last night (but) there is extreme pressure on him... our PM is compromised. The public needs to think about this. Modiji sold your hard work... sold the country. He is scared…"

However, government sources repeatedly told NDTV what Goyal confirmed yesterday and today, that price-sensitive agriculture and dairy markets, and farmers' interests, remained guarded.