By Siddharth Sharma

New Delhi [India], February 7 (ANI): Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday raised sharp questions over the recently announced India-United States trade agreement, saying that the government has overstated the nature of the agreement and failed to provide clarity on its implications, particularly for Indian farmers and exporters.

In a telephonic interview with ANI, Chidambaram responded to questions on the government's claims regarding the deal, and said, 'what has been announced is neither a bilateral trade agreement nor an interim agreement, but merely a framework for a possible interim agreement in the future.'

'This deal, which has been announced in a joint statement, is not a bilateral trade agreement. It is not even an interim agreement. It is simply a framework for an interim agreement,' he said.

Addressing the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's assurance that Indian farmers' interests have been fully protected, Chidambaram remained unconvinced and said, 'There are words, but I am looking at the text of the joint statement. The text does not give that assurance.'

On concerns related to tariffs and India's negotiating position, Chidambaram said there is significant ambiguity in the joint statement. He pointed out that while tariffs on US goods imported into India are proposed to be reduced or brought close to zero, Indian goods exported to the US would continue to face an 18 percent tariff.

'That 18 percent tariff will be reviewed only when we enter into an interim agreement, and that too subject to a Section 232 investigation,' he said.

'Who has told you what the Section 232 investigation is? Has a commerce minister ever disclosed to the people of India or to parliament, subject to correction, that there is an investigation under Section 232?' he said.

Chidambaram further said that the joint statement refers to multiple US orders and a presidential proclamation that would govern any future deal, which, according to him, are issues now coming to light for the first time.

When asked whether the BJP-led NDA government was negotiating effectively and securing a competitive advantage for Indian exporters vis-a-vis countries such as China and Vietnam, Chidambaram cautioned against premature conclusions.

'We don't have an agreement yet. We only have a framework of an agreement. We don't know the contours of the agreement. We only know that there are numerous conditions put by the U.S. to reach an interim agreement. Each of these conditions requires clarification from the government,' he said.

On the issue of transparency and parliamentary oversight, the former finance minister said it was unclear whether the government itself had full knowledge of the proposed terms.

'I don't think the government knows the full extent of the terms. If it does, then it should disclose them to Parliament,' Chidambaram said. (ANI)