Opposition spreading false narrative on Indo-US trade deal: BJP

Chandigarh: The Punjab unit of the BJP on Friday accused the opposition parties of spreading "a false narrative" on the Indo-US trade deal.Addressing a press conference, BJP leaders said economic progress depended on the country's ability to sell its raw material or products made from it in international markets. They said increased exports led to the setting up of factories, which in turn generated employment for the youth of the state and the country.Punjab BJP leader Charanjit Singh Brar said opposition parties were misleading farmers and the public by claiming that concessions were granted to the US at the cost of Punjab's agricultural interests.Brar stated that none of Punjab's major crops, including wheat, rice, barley, maize, soybean, millet, oats, all types of ethanol, mustard, cotton, kabuli chana, moong and other crops, were given any concession by India for import into the country from the US.He further said vegetables such as onion, potato, peas, beans, mushrooms, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, capsicum and okra were not allowed to be imported into India from the US. On the contrary, Brar claimed that these vegetables and processed vegetable products could be exported from India to the US at 0% tariff.On dairy products, Brar said milk and milk products such as paneer, cream, butter, milk powder and ghee were not given any relaxation for entry into India. Instead, he said milk and milk products from India could be exported to the US at 0% tariff.Similarly, he said in the category of spices, items such as black pepper, clove, cardamom, dry and green chilli, coriander, cumin, asafoetida, ginger, turmeric, carom seeds, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, mustard seeds, tea, coffee and processed powders made from these were not granted any concession for import into India. Rather, these raw materials and processed spices can be exported to the United States at 0% tariff, Brar added.With regard to fruits, Brar said mango, banana, guava, pineapple, coconut, cashew, orange, grapefruit, kinnow, lemon, grapes, cherry, dried plum, tamarind, dried apple, water chestnut kernel and dates were not given any relaxation for import into India.He also said minimum purchase quotas were fixed in some items. According to Brar, around five crore tonnes of feed required for animals and poultry was imported into India from foreign countries, out of which 1%, or 5 lakh tonnes, was fixed for import from the United States.Similarly, about 5.50 lakh tonnes of apples were imported into India from foreign countries, of which 1 lakh tonne was fixed as a quota from the United States, he said, adding that earlier apples used to reach India at Rs 75 per kg and now these would come to the country at about Rs 100 per kg.Brar further said 2.77 lakh tonnes of almonds were imported from foreign countries, of which 2.50 lakh tonnes came from the US last year, but now a quota of 1 lakh tonne is fixed. Likewise, about 5.50 lakh tonnes of soybean oil was imported into India, and in 2024-25 around 2 lakh tonnes came from the US, yet only a 1 lakh tonne quota is fixed.He maintained that all these items were already being imported into India in large quantities and by fixing quotas on some items while allowing farmers' crops and crop-based products to be exported to the US at 0% tariff, farmers in Punjab and across the country would benefit.BJP leaders also said apart from agriculture, sectors such as cotton and textiles, leather, toys, component manufacturing for Punjab industries and household goods would see growth.They argued that competing countries such as China at 35%, Vietnam at 20%, Bangladesh at 20% and Indonesia at 19% faced higher tariffs, while India faced around 18% tariff compared to these countries.MSID:: 128312954 413 |