India finds out about decisions important to it from White House: Congress' dig on ‘trade deal'
With U.S. President Donald Trump announcing that a "very big" trade deal is on the cards with India, the Congress on Friday (June 27, 2025) took a swipe at the government and said it seems that India gets to know decisions of great importance to it from the White House.
The Opposition party's swipe at the government came after President Donald Trump said a "very big" trade deal is on the cards with India, hinting at significant progress in the negotiation process of a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.
"We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," said Mr. Trump while speaking at the 'Big Beautiful Bill' event at the White House.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that "after repeating 16 times" that he used a trade deal as an instrument to bring about a ceasefire between India & Pakistan, Mr. Trump has now announced that the India-U.S. trade agreement is going to be signed in the next few days.
"He calls it a 'very big deal.' It better be — given that it led to the abrupt end of Operation Sindoor," Mr. Ramesh said on X. "As is now becoming evident, India has to get to know decisions of great importance to it from the White House in Washington DC," the Congress leader said.
Mr. Trump's remarks come as an Indian team headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal on Thursday (June 26, 2025) arrived in Washington for the next round of trade talks with the U.S. Both countries are engaged in negotiations for an interim trade deal and are trying to finalise the pact before July 9.
The high tariffs announced by the U.S. on April 2 were suspended by the Trump administration till July 9. The agriculture and dairy sectors are difficult and challenging areas for India to give duty concessions to the US. India has not opened up dairy in any of its free trade pacts signed so far.
The U.S. wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles — especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agricultural items such as apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.
India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas in the proposed trade pact.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Iran-Israel conflict: Jaishankar speaks to Iranian counterpart; thanks him for facilitating evacuation of Indians
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghci and thanked him for facilitating safe evacuation of Indian nationals during the conflict between Israel and the Shiite state. In a social media post on X, Jaishankar said that Araghchi shared perspective and thinking about the heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. "Spoke to FM Araghchi of Iran this afternoon. Appreciate his sharing Iran's perspective and thinking in the current complex situation," Jaishankar said. "Thanked him for facilitating the safe evacuation of Indian nationals," he added. Earlier on Thursday, ministry of external affairs said that India evacuated more than 4,400 Indian nationals from Iran and Israel so far in 19 special flights under Operation Sindhu launched on June 18 to bring home its citizens amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries "A fresh batch of 173 Indians evacuated from Iran reached Delhi late Thursday night in a flight from Armenian capital Yerevan", MEA said in a post on X. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to queries on Operation Sindhu, said New Delhi was assessing the situation on the ground and a decision on the future course of action would be taken based on it. Over 3,400 Indian nationals have been evacuated so far in 14 flights from Iran since the start of Operation Sindhu, according to data shared by him during the briefing. Jaiswal later shared updated evacuee figures in the post on X after the arrival of the flight from Yeravan. "A special evacuation flight from Yerevan, Armenia landed in New Delhi at 22:30 hrs on 26th June, bringing home 173 Indian nationals from Iran," he wrote. "As part of #OperationSindhu, a total of 4415 Indian nationals (3597 from Iran and 818 from Israel) have been evacuated so far using 19 special evacuation flights including 3 IAF aircraft. 14 OCI card-holders, 9 Nepali nationals, 4 Sri Lankan nationals and 1 Iranian spouse of an Indian national were also evacuated from Iran," he added. Israel and Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at each other's cities and military and strategic facilities since the hostilities began more than a week ago. The tensions escalated significantly following the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on the morning of June 22. India has evacuated its nationals on chartered flights operated from the Iranian city of Mashhad, the Armenian capital of Yerevan and the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat since June 18. Iran lifted airspace restrictions on June 20 to facilitate three chartered flights from Mashhad. The first flight landed in New Delhi late on June 20 with 290 Indians, and the second one landed in the national capital on June 21 afternoon with 310 Indians. Another flight arrived from the Armenian capital city of Yerevan on June 19 and a special evacuation flight from Ashgabat landed in New Delhi early on June 21. India on June 23 had evacuated 290 Indian nationals and a Sri Lankan citizen from Iran following the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
India to need $1.3 trillion green, social funds by 2030, says report
India will need $1.3 trillion in cumulative green, social, sustainability and sustainability debt (GSS) by 2030 as it transitions to decarbonising sectors like cement and steel, a report by Japan's MUFG Bank and London based advocacy group Climate Bonds Initiative said. The report said that by 2030, $756 billion is expected to come from private sources opening up space for both infrastructure-scale and innovative financing models. "Decarbonising steel and cement alone will require $650 billion, presenting one of India's largest opportunities for transition-aligned capital," the report said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Morgenmad: 15 fødevarer, du aldrig bør spise Health Natural Klik her Undo Until December 2024, India's cumulative GSS issuance had reached $55.9 billion, representing a 186% increase since 2021, largely led by green bonds which accounted for 83% of total aligned issuance. But the Indian market is now rapidly diversifying in terms of themes, instruments and issuer types. "India ranks as the fourth-largest emerging market source of aligned GSS debt globally following China, South Korea, and trends reveal the US dollar as the dominant choice (55%), followed by the rupee (44%), supported by sovereign bonds and domestic loans. Japanese yen and euro are also emerging as viable alternatives for Indian issuers," the report said. Live Events The report said that since January 2023 the Government of India has issued eight sovereign green-bonds totalling Rs 47,700 crore (˜ $5.8 billion), creating a domestic green yield curve with greater participation from domestic financial institutions, global asset managers and banks deepening secondary-market liquidity in the country. "Green bonds and loans account for 83% of total aligned volume. Loans make up 39% of that green segment, and 2024 alone saw $5.5 billion of labelled green-loan deals across 19 corporates. Social bonds added $5.5 billion, lifting cumulative social-bond volume to $6.6 billion in 2024 while NBFCs also raised $1.8 billion in social loans during the year," the report said. Banks and NBFCs exploring innovative structures bundling rooftop-solar, e-mobility and waste-management assets into portfolio financings that are subsequently refinanced through labelled bonds and loans. This together with policy support from the government and regulators will aid GSS bonds and loans growth in India. MUFG Bank on its own aims to mobilise 100 trillion yen in sustainable finance by 2030, with 50 trillion yen earmarked for environmental initiatives. In the first half of 2024, MUFG had already delivered approximately 15 trillion yen achieving nearly 30% of this target.
Time of India
15 minutes ago
- Time of India
Will pad up and bat if captain tells me to: Kanhaiya on contesting Bihar polls
Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday said that he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls if the party tells him to. Using a cricketing analogy, Kumar said that just like batting, bowling, and fielding are responsibilities that have to be fulfilled on the cricket field, fighting polls is also a responsibility in politics. "To fight polls, to make others fight polls and campaign, all are responsibilities that the party allots. If the party tells me to contest the polls then I will fight the elections also. Earlier also, when I contested the polls, it was on the orders of the party," he told PTI in an interview when asked whether he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls slated later this year. "If the captain tells me to sit outside and deliver drinks for those at the crease, I will do that. And if the captain tells me to, I will also pad up and bat," Kumar said on the possibility of him contesting assembly polls. On the Congress projecting him as a prominent face in Bihar, Kumar said the party has given him a responsibility like it does to its lakhs of workers. It is like in a team where different people have a separate role, he added. Live Events "Earlier, (MS) Dhoni was the wicketkeeper. Now (Rishabh) Pant is there," he said, drawing a cricketing parallel. Asserting that the party functions with collective effort, Kumar said the decision to contest polls should also be collective. "I have been a strong votary of the principle that fighting an election is a collective decision. Like other responsibilities, fighting polls is also a responsibility. Like batting, bowling, and fielding are all responsibilities that have to be fulfilled, fighting polls is also a responsibility," he told PTI. Kumar, a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls twice. He first contested general elections on a CPI ticket from Bihar's Begusarai in 2019 and then as a Congress nominee from Northeast Delhi in 2024. On the Election Commission asking for place of birth certificates starting with Bihar polls, Kumar said the Congress has asked the poll panel to rectify the anomalies in the voters list. "Today, if you raise questions on EC, they are answered by the BJP. You raise questions on ED, and answers are given by the BJP. You raise questions on the CBI and the Income Tax Department, answers are given by the BJP. I would like to remind you that it was the BJP that raised the questions over EVMs... So, if you (the BJP) raises questions it is ok but if we do the same, it is wrong," he said. "First you were saying there is no error. Now you are starting this process from Bihar. So, you are accepting that there is a mistake. And if there is a mistake, your focus should be on rectifying that and not harassing people. A Process should not become a punishment and the issues that have been raised should be rectified honestly," Kumar said.
