New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) With US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer visiting India, the Congress on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must stop appeasing his “good friend” President Donald Trump and there is absolutely no need for India to be “bamboozled” into signing any trade pact which at present is heavily against its interests.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government must seek inspiration from Malaysia which has rebuffed its own trade deal with America following the US Supreme Court’s verdict.
“The US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is in New Delhi today and tomorrow. On the request of PM Modi, while he was under pressure from Rahul Gandhi’s expose in Parliament of his cowardice in front of China, an India-US Joint statement on trade was issued on February 6, 2026,” Ramesh said on X.
The US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is in New Delhi today and tomorrow.
On the request of PM Modi, while he was under pressure from @RahulGandhi’s expose in Parliament of his cowardice in front of China, an India-US Joint statement on trade was issued on February 6,…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 23, 2026
“The US promised to reduce tariffs on Indian exports from 25% to 18%. India promised to eliminate its tariffs or reduce them deeply on US agricultural commodities and industrial products and purchase up to USD 500 billion from the US over five years,” he said.
Ramesh pointed out that on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the US ruled that President Trump’s reciprocal tariff strategy was illegal.
The very tariff concession that the US had offered India in the February 6, 2026, joint statement effectively disappeared overnight, he said.
“Within hours of the US Supreme Court ruling the US imposed a temporary 10% tariff on all its trading partners including India. The legal basis for this expires on July 24, 2026. There is considerable uncertainty on what will happen thereafter,” Ramesh said.
However, India along with about 60 other countries is under investigation by the US for unfair trade practices that supposedly violate US laws, he said, adding that final outcomes from this investigation are expected in the coming weeks.
