Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal questioned UPA-era offers and coverage choices resembling palm oil imports. |Photograph courtesy of ANI
Congress chief Anand Sharma on Sunday (February 8, 2026) dared Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to scrap commerce agreements with ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in the event that they had been towards nationwide curiosity.
Sharma, a former UPA commerce minister, was reacting to Goyal’s press convention on Saturday (February 7, 2026) during which he questioned UPA-era offers and coverage choices, together with the import of palm oil from overseas international locations.
“It’s ironic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Malaysia for ASEAN outreach and the commerce minister has made such remarks,” Sharma stated. hinduism. “What prevents the federal government from canceling these offers if they’re towards the state,” he requested.
Sharma justified the choice to import edible oils resembling palm oil, citing knowledge that argues imports are needed to satisfy home demand. “India stays an importer of edible oils. Home manufacturing is round 10.5-10.6 million tonnes per 12 months and imports are 16 million tonnes per 12 months. Near $18.3 billion was spent in 2024-25,” he stated.
The Congress chief stated palm oil was imported even in the course of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA authorities and continued to be imported in the course of the 12 years of the Narendra Modi authorities.
“The commerce minister has accomplished a disservice to the nation by calling ASEAN China’s B-team. He ought to apologize for his remarks. We additionally need him to reply our questions relating to the mysterious India-US commerce deal,” Sharma stated.
Sharma stated US President Donald Trump’s “lofty claims” concerning the deal elevate “elementary points past commerce round nationwide sovereignty, India’s world engagement, the multilateral rules-based buying and selling system, and the WTO.”
He identified that earlier than the 25% reciprocal tariff in April 2025, the common US MFN (Most Favored Nation) tariff on India was round 3% and requested, “What’s there to rejoice?”
Sharma additionally sought solutions on whether or not India had agreed to open up its agriculture and dairy sectors, present “duty-free entry” to American merchandise, commit to purchasing $500 billion value of American merchandise, and restrict purchases of Russian oil.
“The federal government has to reply all these inquiries to the individuals. The individuals cannot be silent on the main points and attempt to blame the earlier authorities,” he stated.
