NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday escalated his attack on the finalised India-US trade deal, claiming that the agreement would harm India’s cotton farmers and textile exporters.In a post on X, Rahul alleged that the government has walked into a “trap” that leaves millions of families staring into an “abyss of unemployment.”“18% Tariff versus 0% – Let me explain how the Prime Minister, a master at telling lies, and his Cabinet are spreading confusion on this. And how they’re deceiving the country’s cotton farmers and textile exporters through the India-US trade deal.”Rahul said that after India’s garments were subjected to an 18% tariff in the US market, he raised in Parliament the issue of the special concession being given to Bangladesh. According to him, a minister responded, “If we want the same benefit, we’ll have to import cotton from the US.”The LoP in Lok Sabha claimed that Bangladesh was being given a 0% tariff on garment exports to the US on the condition that it imports American cotton. Bangladesh is signalling that it might reduce or even stop importing cotton from India, he said.Questioning the policy, Gandhi said, “Is it really any kind of option – or a trap designed to corner us in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation? If we import American cotton, our own farmers will be ruined. If we don’t, our textile industry will fall behind and be destroyed.”Earlier as well, Rahul Gandhi had criticised the Centre over the agreement with Washington, alleging that the deal “betrays our food security and farmers,” and claiming that PM Modi opened India’s agricultural market because US President Donald Trump “has him by the throat.”The remarks come after Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday rejected Gandhi’s criticism and accused him of misleading farmers.In a video post on X, Goyal said, “Mr Rahul Gandhi has once again rolled out a stage-managed, most artificial and fake narrative. This time, he is shooting from the shoulders of a few Congress party activists, who are pretending to be farmer leaders – in a completely artificial, and baseless conversation.”Goyal said the government had fully protected farmers’ interests in the agreement and that he stood by that statement “on record and with full responsibility.”He added that the deal would benefit farmers, fishermen, youth, MSMEs, startups and artisans, and would not harm agricultural producers.
