Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of cheating cotton farmers and textile exporters in the country over the India-US interim trade deal and said the agreement is likely to inflict deep damage on both sectors. He also claimed that the trade deal, which now favours Bangladesh through zero per cent tariffs, will either finish the textile sector or the cotton farming or both, and the entire country knows this.
In a post on X, he said the government has neither protected the interests of cotton farmers nor that of textile exporters as a visionary government would have negotiated a deal that protected both and ensured prosperity for both the sectors. “18 per cent Tariff vs 0 per cent - Let me explain how the Prime Minister and his cabinet are spreading confusion on this issue. And how they are cheating India's cotton farmers and textile exporters through the India-US trade deal,” he said in his post.
Hitting back at Gandhi, Textile Minister Giriraj Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of spreading “misinformation without understanding the facts”.
“The reality is that India has secured a much better and more balanced trade arrangement with the US compared to many of our competing countries, a deal designed holistically to support industry growth while safeguarding the interests of our farmers. India's cotton export story is stronger and more diversified than ever,” Singh said, adding that it is not dependent on just one market.
In his post, Gandhi said Bangladesh is being given zero per cent tariff benefit on garment exports to the US, the only condition is that they import American cotton. “After the announcement of 18 percent tariff on Indian garments, when I raised the question in Parliament about the special concession being given to Bangladesh, the reply from a minister of the Modi government was: ‘If we also want the same benefit, we will have to import cotton from America’.
“Why was this fact hidden from the country till now? And what kind of policy is this? Is this really any kind of choice - or is it a trap designed to push us into a 'well in front, ditch behind' situation,” he asked.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “If we import American cotton, our own farmers will be ruined. If we don't import it, our textile industry will lag behind and get destroyed.” And now, he claimed, Bangladesh is also giving signals that it may reduce or even stop importing cotton from India, he said.
Gandhi said the textile industry and cotton farming are the backbone of livelihood in India, he noted, adding that crores of people's daily bread depend on these very sectors. Attacking these sectors means pushing millions of families into the pit of unemployment and economic crisis, Gandhi claimed, adding that India's textile sector provides employment to five crore families and Modi's US deal will destroy the textile sector.
“I call this surrender as it will either kill the textile sector or cotton sector or both,” Gandhi also said in a video message. “A visionary government that thinks in national interest would have negotiated a deal that protects and ensures the prosperity of both cotton farmers and textile exporters. But exactly the opposite has happened,” he said in his post.
Also read: Rahul meets major farmer unions to discuss India-US trade deal
Follow us
