Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday raised questions on the central government regarding the recent interim trade agreement between India and America. He asked whether the union budget was prepared before this agreement was finalized or vice versa.
This comment of Akhilesh Yadav comes after India and America reached an interim trade agreement earlier this week. US President Donald Trump has claimed that India has reduced the tariff on some imports to 18 percent, while India has agreed to impose zero percent tariff on some American products. However, the BJP-led central government has not yet given any detailed official statement in this regard.
During the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Akhilesh Yadav expressed concern about the government’s trade policy and the impact of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He said, “BJP says that India has free trade agreements with many countries. But, I would like to know with which countries FTA will not be possible? BJP wants to sign FTA with many countries. But, what will be the real consequences of this?”
Commenting on the agreement with the US, Yadav said, “Despite so many FTAs, the deal with the US is actually a relaxation (agreement) and not a concrete agreement. Who knows where our money will go after this. If this deal had to be done, then why was there a delay of 11 months? Our businessmen and industrialists had to wait so long.”
Akhilesh Yadav also asked the Center whether the government properly assessed the impact of this deal and whether it is in the interest of India’s business and economy. He said that free trade agreements are important for the economic security of the country and the stability of the rupee, hence it should be implemented thoughtfully.
Samajwadi Party chief and Lok Sabha member Akhilesh Yadav questioned the timing of economic decisions and asked, “The question on the budget is what happened first, the deal or the budget?”
Akhilesh Yadav also expressed concern over the central government’s emphasis on self-reliance and indigenous production in view of the trade agreement between India and America. He asked, “At the time of signing of this deal, were words like self-reliance and Swadeshi removed from the dictionary, or were they put in the reverse part?
One-way trade of Rs 500 million… Where will our slogans of self-reliance and Swadeshi go? The people of the country are asking BJP that when the deal is never one-sided, then are 0 and 18 equal? BJP considers 18 equal to 0.
Apart from this, Akhilesh Yadav also criticized the Union Budget and alleged that it failed to address the needs of marginalized communities. “There was nothing for PDA, poor, Dalits and tribals in this budget,” he said. Yadav accused the government of ignoring these sections of the society.
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