Rahul Gandhi slams India–US trade deal, talks of data as India's asset in LS

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that if an INDIA bloc government had negotiated an agreement with the US, it would have ensured an arrangement on “equal” terms and would not have allowed India to be treated “equal to Pakistan”, asserting that it would have taken every possible step to safeguard India’s energy security and farmers. 

Participating in the discussion on the Union Budget, Gandhi sought what he described as “creative freedom” during his speech and used analogies from martial arts to explain political strategy and negotiations.

Referring to the Economic Survey, Gandhi said it highlighted two major global developments shaping the current geopolitical environment. "I was looking at the economic survey, and I found two points there. First, that you are living in a world of intensifying geopolitical conflict, which means that the dominance of the US is being challenged by the Chinese, Russians and other forces."

The Congress leader said he agreed with the Economic Survey’s observation that the dominance of the US dollar is being challenged. "The LoP said that he agreed to the Economic Survey's point that the US dollar is being 'challenged' and so is the 'US supremacy'. We are moving from one superpower to something that we cannot predict -- maybe two superpowers or multiple powers -- which is an unpredictable world. I agree with that," he said.

Rahul Gandhi says ‘world of stability to instability’

"Second, we are living in a world of energy and financial weaponisation. The main thing they are saying here is that we are moving from a world of stability to instability. The Prime Minister and, shockingly, the NSA stated that the era of war is over. In fact, we are moving into an era of war," he said.

Highlighting ongoing global conflicts, Gandhi added, "You can see war is there in Ukraine, war is there in Gaza, war is there in the Middle East, threat of war is there in Iran. We had Operation Sindoor. So we are moving into a world of instability."

He says ‘petrol for AI is data’

Gandhi also warned about the potential impact of artificial intelligence and the importance of data in the global technology landscape. "Everyone talks about AI, but talking about AI is like talking about the internal combustion engine without talking about petrol. The petrol for AI is data. If you have AI and you don't have data, you are nothing," he said.

"Which are the two biggest pools of data on the planet? The Indian and the Chinese pools. They also have 1.4 billion people; we have a bigger population than them, we allow more freedom, we allow our people to do more dynamic things, so we have, in fact, the more interesting data," he added.

He said India must recognise its strengths in a rapidly changing global environment. "What you need is to move into a dangerous world; we have to understand our strengths; the central strength of our country is our people," he said.

There is nothing for farmers in the budget

"The second strength... Food and our farmers. Food is abundant today. Third, energy, fuel and petrol... These are the three things that need to be protected in the turbulent times," Gandhi said.

He added that while the Union Budget appears to recognise these areas, it does not adequately address them.

Gandhi said the Budget “recognises” these aspects, but there is “nothing in the Budget that looks into these issues”.

Rahul Gandhi on US  trade deal

Speaking about the India-US interim trade agreement, Gandhi said, "In parallel to the Budget, we have made a deal with the United States. Drawing a comparison with how the "INDIA Alliance" would have handled negotiations with US President Donald Trump, Gandhi said, "We would have said, President Trump, the most important thing in this equation is the Indian data. You want to protect your dollar. We are your friends, we can protect your dollar, but you need to understand that the biggest asset to protect your dollar is with the Indian people. Second thing we would have said that President Trump, you need to understand that you are going to talk to us as an equal, not as servants."

He further said that he would have told the US leadership, "Our energy security is our energy security, and we are going to protect it," and added, "We understand that you need to protect your farmers, but we will also protect our farmers."

He further raised concerns over tariff changes under the trade arrangement and alleged that the deal disproportionately benefits the United States. 

"What have you done with tariffs. At the beginning, 3% was the average, which has now gone up to 18% -- a 6x increase. The US imports will go up from $46 billion to $146 billion. This is absurd, and they (the US) have no commitment to us, we have a commitment to them... we are standing like fools... Our tariff has gone up 3% to 18%, and theirs has come down from 16% to 0," he said.

Gandhi stated that political differences aside, lawmakers across parties would want to safeguard national interests. 

"I believe that people across the aisle here want to protect our country. I also believe that the Prime Minister understands that India's biggest asset is its people and, as a result, its data. I do not believe for one second that the Prime Minister does not understand it," he said.

The Congress leader also cited comparative tariff benefits allegedly extended by the US to Bangladesh, arguing that such measures would damage India’s textile sector. 

"The US has reduced the tariff on Bangladesh to 0, while India's tariff is 18%. What do you expect our textile people to do? They are dead, finished! The entire textile industry is gone. Because their competitor is Bangladesh, if Bangladesh imports US cotton, they have 0% duty. Textile Industry (India's) is gone," he said.

Gandhi further claimed that the agreement weakens India’s energy independence and gives the United States significant leverage over India’s oil procurement decisions. 

Gandhi further alleged that the trade arrangement could limit India’s strategic autonomy in energy procurement.

"The US will now decide where we will buy our oil from and not our Prime Minister, and if India buys oil from a country that the US does not approve of, then they will punish us with tariffs," he said.

Continuing his criticism, Gandhi added, "You've weaponised energy, and you don't have any solutions to overcome this."

INDIA bloc would've gone to US as equals,

"We would go there as equals, we would not be made equal to Pakistan," Gandhi said.

He also stated that an INDIA bloc government would have responded to Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir’s meeting with the US President.

 Population is the biggest asset of India 

Highlighting the strategic importance of population, Gandhi said, "I remember so many people saying that population is a weight, population is a disaster. No, population is the biggest asset you can have. It's a strength. But it's only a strength if you recognise that data is important."