New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi On Saturday, he escalated his attack on the finalized India-US trade deal, claiming it would harm the interests of Indian cotton farmers and textile exporters.In a post on X, Rahul claimed that the government has walked into a “trap” that has plunged millions of families into “the abyss of unemployment”.“18% tariffs vs. 0% tariffs – let me explain how this liar prime minister and his cabinet are sowing confusion in this regard. And how they are deceiving the country’s cotton farmers and textile exporters with the Indo-US trade deal.”Rahul said that after Indian garments were levied 18% tariff in the US market, he raised the issue of special concessions for Bangladesh in the Parliament. According to him, one minister responded: “If we want the same benefits, we have to import cotton from the United States.”The Lok Sabha claimed that Bangladesh’s garment exports to the United States can enjoy zero tariffs on the condition that it imports American cotton. He said Bangladesh was sending a signal that it might reduce or even stop cotton imports from India.Gandhi questioned the policy, saying: “Is this really a choice? Or is it a trap designed to get us into a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation? If we import American cotton, our own farmers will go bankrupt. If we don’t import, our textile industry will fall behind and be destroyed.”Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had also criticized the Center’s deal with Washington, claiming it “betrayed our food security and farmers” and alleged that Prime Minister Modi opened up India’s agricultural markets because US President Donald Trump was “grabbing him by the throat”.The comments come after the federal minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal Friday rejected Gandhi’s criticism and accused him of misleading farmers.Goyal said in a video posted onGoyal said the government had fully protected the interests of farmers in the agreement and he stood by the statement “on record and with full responsibility”.He added that the agreement would benefit farmers, fishermen, youth, MSMEs, start-ups and artisans and would not harm agricultural producers.
