The White House revised the $500 billion clause a day after the fact sheet on the trade deal between India and the US was released. Says that India “intends to purchase” more US products, instead of having “committed” to a substitution which will help the PM Modi government refute the charge that it has given in to the Trump administration’s tariff aggression.
After the revision, agricultural products are removed from the list of “committed” shipments, and the claim in the previous factsheet released on Tuesday that India had agreed to exclude the digital services tax has also been deleted. Additionally, the US administration removed “certain pulses” from the list of agricultural goods on which India had decided to eliminate or cut tariffs.
The new fact sheet clearly reflects the government’s position articulated in its media briefing after the deal announcement. The Indian government said it has agreed to some agricultural imports from the US. However, it will not include sensitive items such as cereals and dairy products. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal noted that some pulses were not part of the deal at the time of his press conference on Saturday.
Also read: India to Keep Buying Quality Crude Oil, Says Government
The US administration’s decision to drop some pulses will help the government counter any attacks from opposition and farmer groups, which have called for a nationwide strike on Thursday, 12 February.
