New Delhi: Amid ongoing ruckus in the Parliament over India-US trade deal, the Centre on Tuesday asserted that it will issue a statement and will also
hold a discussion. The announcement was made by Union minister JP Nadda.
There are also reports that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla held meetings with Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and urged them to let the House function. Gaurav Gogoi from Congress and Kiren Rijiju from the ruling party met Birla. Following the Speaker’s meetings with leaders from both sides, the House is expected to function properly after 2pm today.
In his statement in the parliament, Nadda said the Congress and INDIA bloc MPs should now let it function as Centre is ready for a discussion over the trade deal.
“Late last night, the US President posted on tariffs and referred to PM Modi as a “true friend”. In response, the PM tweeted, thanking the US President. The government will issue a suo motu statement on this trade deal and also hold a discussion on it. When the government is ready to give a detailed statement, this attitude of Congress and the INDIA alliance is wrong. It is their frustration which is speaking,” said Nadda.
Why is Congress protesting over India-US trade deal?
Earlier Congress demanded that the Centre should take Parliament into confidence and the text of both the EU and US trade deals must be laid on the table of both Houses and debated.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that from the information President Donald Trump has provided, it is abundantly clear that PM Modi has “completely surrendered”.
He said that almost exactly a year ago, PM Modi landed at the White House to greet President Trump on his re-election.
“His trademark huglomacy was on full display. India-US relations never appeared brighter. Negotiations for a trade deal started immediately thereafter. But ever since President Trump made the first announcement of the halt to Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10, 2025 things began to go downhill,” Ramesh said on X.
Subsequently, US President Trump embraced Pakistan and Field Marshal Asim Munir enthusiastically, “exposing the hollowness of Mr. Modi’s huglomacy”, he said.
Trump on Monday announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, Trump said on Monday after a phone conversation with PM Modi.
On his part, PM Modi said he was delighted that “Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent”.
