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Congress targets Govt on US tariffs: Close ties yes, but 27% will hurt India’s foreign trade

In a draft resolution, which is under discussion and will be presented at the AICC session Wednesday, the Congress said good relations can never happen at the expense of India’s national interests.

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Targeting the Modi government over its “weak-kneed and failed” foreign policy, the Congress has said while the party “remains a strong votary of close ties” with the US, the latter’s decision to impose 27 per cent tariffs is going to severely impact India’s foreign trade.

In a draft resolution, which is under discussion and will be presented at the AICC session Wednesday, the Congress said good relations can never happen at the expense of India’s national interests.

Party leaders, however, pointed out that the draft could undergo changes before tabling at the AICC session.

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The draft resolution stated: “During the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington, DC, we were publicly insulted in the PM’s presence and our country was labelled as a ‘tariff abuser’. Indian migrants were treated like animals and deported from the United States in chains and handcuffs. Unfortunately, even the External Affairs Minister justified this inhumane treatment of our migrants by the US in the Parliament.”

It stated that the 27 per cent tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods would severely impact India’s foreign trade.

“The US, on the other hand, is pressing for reduction of import duties on American goods, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, alcoholic beverages, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals. This would deal a serious blow not only to Indian farmers but also to our dynamic domestic automobile and pharmaceutical industries,” it stated.

The Congress said its governments in the past had enhanced India’s global stature and demonstrated leadership on the world stage through a principled and visionary foreign policy.

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“Our governments’ foreign policy was always centred around protection of India’s interests, global balance of power, finding solutions through mutual harmony and dialogue, international cooperation and peaceful resolution of disputes,” the draft resolution stated.

“Sadly, the current regime has compromised India’s foreign policy at the altar of ‘individual branding’ and ‘serving vested interests’. The position in our neighbourhood is indeed worrisome. China has illegally coupled nearly 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, yet the current BJP government, founded upon the rhetoric of showing ‘lal ankh’ (red eye), has utterly failed to remère the status quo ante, as it existed prior to April 2020,” it stated.

The draft spoke about the proposed construction of the world’s largest dam by China on the Brahmaputra river and called it an alarming development, particularly for Assam and other North-East states.

On the developments in Bangladesh, it said “the return of radical elements and zealots in neighbouring Bangladesh is also a matter of serious concern, as it has already created an unsafe environment for religious minorities”.

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“The unfolding of the large-scale humanitarian tragedy, bombing and thousands of deaths of innocents in Palestine-Israel conflict and the non-committal silence on these important international developments is in total disregard to our long-established diplomatic principles,” it stated.

“For the present BJP government, foreign policy has been reduced to a policy of weak-kneed leadership and helpless submission, which is unacceptable,” it stated.

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