NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday questioned the timing of the India-US trade agreement, suggesting that the government may have hurried to finalise the deal even though a ruling by the US Supreme Court on tariffs imposed during former US President Donald Trump’s tenure is still pending.
Taking to X, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh cited the publicly available calendar of the US Supreme Court, noting that February 20 had long been scheduled as a non-argument day—a day typically reserved for issuing judgments.
“This is the calendar of the US Supreme Court—decided and released months in advance. It clearly marks out February 20 as a non-argument day—that is, a day when arguments will not be heard and a judgment could be released. The court had already heard arguments relating to tariffs on November 5, 2025, and it was well known that the justices were not expected to be favourably inclined to President Trump’s tariffs,” he wrote.
Ramesh further questioned why India did not wait until February 20 to sign the trade deal and asked what the urgency was in finalising it on February 2.
Earlier, Ramesh told media that the agreement would lead to immediate liberalisation of imports. Voicing similar concerns, Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned reports that the US could levy a 10–15% tariff on Indian exports even as India has slashed duties to zero on nearly 70 items.
Legal teams formed to reclaim original RTI Act
The Congress announced new initiatives on Sunday, including setting up rapid legal response teams at state and district levels and raising its voice to reclaim the original RTI Act. Announcing four such programmes, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken and senior spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that young minds, through such initiatives, would help provide legal aid at the grassroots level whenever required.