India-US trade pact a ‘war on farmers’, says Shiv Sena (UBT) in Saamana

The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Thursday came down heavily on the Centre over the IndiandashUS trade agreement describing it not just as a deal but a ldquodeclaration of warrdquo against Indian farmers and labourersIn a scathing editorial published in its mouthpiece Saamana the Shiv Sena UBT said the agreement endangers the livelihood of the countryrsquos food producers and questioned whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi is safeguarding Indiarsquos interests or acting as a ldquosales agentrdquo for the United States USThe editorial called upon farmers and workers across the nation to unite and seek accountability from the Central governmentIt said the agreement was signed at a time when the domestic economy is under strain noting that the Indian rupee had slipped to a record low of 92 against the US dollar in late January Despite this the government appeared ldquointoxicatedrdquo by the deal the editorial said accusing it of projecting US President Donald Trump as a ldquonew deityrdquo while ldquomortgaging the nationrsquos sovereigntyrdquoThe editorial asserted that Prime Minister Modi ldquoshould not remain in office for even a moment after sacrificing the interests of Indian farmers and national sovereigntyrdquoQuoting Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi Saamana claimed that the Prime Minister signed the agreement out of ldquofearrdquo and under ldquoimmense pressurerdquo from Trump According to Gandhi the deal had been stalled for nearly four months and was suddenly signed for ldquomysterious reasonsrdquolsquoFine printrsquo of IndiaUS trade deal spells trouble for economy farmers SaamanaWhile the BJP has hailed the agreement as a ldquomagnificent announcementrdquo that would benefit 14 billion Indians the editorial said the fine print paints a bleak picture for the domestic economyIt claimed that India would reportedly stop buying oil from Russia and instead switch entirely to US oil imports worth 500 billion dollars It further alleged that India would scrap tariffs on US agricultural products coal and technologyThe editorial pointed out that although US tariffs on Indian goods are expected to come down from 50 per cent to 18 per cent Indiarsquos effective tariff burden would jump sharply from 331 per cent earlier to 18 per centWarning of serious repercussions for the agriculture sector the Thackeray camp said a proposed ldquozero tariffrdquo regime would result in subsidised and cheaper American produce flooding Indian markets Commodities such as cotton milk and dairy products pulses soybean maize almonds walnuts fruits and vegetables would be sold dutyfree making them cheaper than domestic produce and pushing Indian farmers and agricultural labourers out of competitionIn a country where farmers continue to die by suicide due to mounting debt the editorial said the government is ldquorolling out the red carpet for foreign productsrdquo reiterating that the Modi government has compromised the interests of Indian farmers and national sovereignty in favour of the United StatesWith IANS inputs