‘A Pre-Committed Purchase Agreement’: Shashi Tharoor Slams Modi Govt Over India-US Trade Deal

During the Lok Sabha debate on the Union Budget, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor strongly criticised the Modi government over the interim India-US trade agreement. He said the deal violated basic principles of reciprocity and appeared more like a pre-committed purchase arrangement than a free trade agreement. Tharoor questioned India’s promise to buy $500 billion worth of US goods over five years despite a limited trade surplus, warning it could convert the surplus into a long-term deficit. He also raised concerns about slashing tariffs, opening agriculture, diluting data localisation and intellectual property safeguards, and redirecting energy imports. Tharoor said Parliament was not informed about safeguards for farmers and MSMEs and warned that budget assumptions lacked clarity, transparency and accountability.