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Trade unions, farm outfits demand parliamentary approval of trade treaties

Trade unions, farm outfits demand parliamentary approval of trade treaties

The Hindu2 days ago
A joint statement by ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday (August 4, 2025) has demanded a parliamentary review of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) signed recently with the United Kingdom. The organisations asked the Union government to reject United States President Donald Trump's 'tariff threats' and assert India's sovereign right to trade with all nations, including Russia.
The statement said the India-U.K. CETA must be reviewed and altered immediately, with no ratification in Parliament. 'All negotiations for a U.S.-India trade deal must be halted to prevent further corporate exploitation. No more secret trade agreements — all future deals must undergo full parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation,' the joint statement added.
The organisations said East India Company colonised India through trade and today, CETA and U.S. trade deals are the new instruments of corporate imperialism. 'On August 13, farmers and workers will rise in defence of sovereignty and freedom, sending a clear message: We will not let history repeat! Quit India, again,' the statement added.
Economic coercion by U.S.
Terming the U.S. import tariffs on India as a blatant act of economic coercion, the trade unions and farmers' outfits said the new duties are aimed at dictating India including its trade relations with Russia. 'These aggressive measures expose the hypocrisy of U.S. trade policies, which demand open markets for American corporations while weaponising tariffs to bully sovereign nations,' they said.
Alleging that the Centre has surrendered to these threats, the SKM and CTUs said it was further evident in the recently signed CETA, which according to them is a deal that sacrifices the interests of India's farmers, workers, and economic independence at the altar of foreign corporate profits.
Compromising India's strategic autonomy
'Instead of firmly rejecting this intimidation, the Central government has responded with silence, signalling its willingness to compromise India's strategic autonomy in favour of U.S.A. This capitulation paves the way for an even more exploitative India-U.S. trade deal, which would grant American agribusiness corporations like Cargill unrestricted access to India's dairy sector, agriculture, resulting in collapsing prices and destroying the farming community along with endangering food security of the nation. It would also trigger de-industrialisation in India and skyrocketing unemployment,' the statement said.
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