'If you have another country's Prez announcing...': Congress' Manish Tewari says Trump's post on India-US trade deal has ' portentous implications' for India's security

Manish Tewari

• Manish Tewari warns US-India trade deal may impact India's strategic autonomy
• Tewari highlights concerns over oil purchases, tariffs, and market access
• US claims India will stop buying Russian oil, give zero tariffs to US exports

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Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday criticised aspects of the emerging India-US trade agreement announced by US President Donald Trump on late Monday night, warning that the contours of the deal could have implications for India’s strategic autonomy.

As quoted by news agency ANI, Tewari said that Trump’s announcement on trade “has very portentous implications for India’s national security.”

He recalled his view on India’s energy policy, saying, "In my recently released book, I had categorically said that India should not have changed its energy profile in March of 2022, that is, start buying discounted Russian oil. The government's defence at that time was that if we are getting cheaper oil from any source, then we will go ahead and buy it."

Trump, in a social media post outlining the trade deal following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed structural changes, including energy purchases and tariff adjustments.

Tewari said the United States’ claim that India agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil and to buy oil from Venezuela was significant, and highlighted other elements he said were part of Trump’s assertion, saying, "Now, President Trump says India has agreed to buy no oil from Russia, so we will buy oil from Venezuela. In addition to that, while Indian imports will be taxed at 18%, American exports to India will have zero per cent tariff. In a social media post, the US Secretary of Agriculture has claimed that India has given unprecedented access to its agricultural markets for the export of produce from the US. In addition to this, there is commitment by India to buy USD 500 billion worth of energy, technology, agricultural products and other goods from the US."

Tewari further questioned the impact of another country’s leader publicly outlining a purported bilateral trade deal, saying "If you have the President of another country announcing contours of what is purportedly a bilateral trade deal, then it transgresses and infringes upon and undermines your strategic autonomy..."

The comments come as the United States announced a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from around 25 per cent to 18 per cent following discussions between Trump and Prime Minister Modi, in what officials have described as a broader trade understanding, though full details and confirmations from official Indian sources are still awaited.