‘We will be an American colony’: Indian opposition slams Modi’s US trade deal
Delhi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, may purchase from Venezuela: Trump
New Delhi,: The Indian National Congress on Tuesday criticised the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for the trade deal struck with the United States on Monday, calling on the government to take the country into confidence about the deal’s details.
According to Kashmir Media Service, US President Donald Trump announced a “trade deal” with India on Monday after speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying New Delhi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and may purchase it instead from Venezuela.
“Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done ‘on Modi’s request’,” the Congress said in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday.
It slammed the move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero, saying, “It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers.”
It also questioned whether the security and interests of Indian farmers had been ensured amid talk of opening the agriculture sector to the US, and whether the Modi government had agreed to the condition stated by Trump that it would no longer buy Russian oil.
“In addition, there is talk of buying more goods from America. If that’s the case, then what happened to ‘Make in India’?” the post added.
“India has the right to know details of the trade deal. The Modi government must take the Parliament and the entire country into confidence and share all the details.”
The Kerala chapter of Congress also slammed the move in briefer terms, saying, “Simply put, we will be an American colony.”
It pointed out that the US would still have a tariff of 18 per cent on Indian goods, while India would charge 0pc tariffs on American goods.
“Resign and get lost,” it said bluntly, addressing Modi.
In a separate post, the opposition party also called the deal “the lowest moment” for India and criticised Modi’s apparent bowing down to Trump.
“Narendra Modi surrendered India’s sovereignty to the US to keep his friend and himself out of jail,” it said, apparently referring to businessman and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.
“This is the lowest moment for the country. Complete surrender without even fighting!”
Congress member Jairam Ramesh, meanwhile, compared Modi’s stance now to his “surrender” during the Pakistan-India conflict in May 2025.
He said that while India-US relations had appeared bright at the start of Trump’s re-election, things had gone “downhill” ever since the US president’s halting of Operation Sindoor on May 10.
Congress member Supriya Shrinate expressed concern over the “deeply worrying” reaction of US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to the announcement, in which she said the deal would “export more American farm products to India’s massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America”.
