India-US trade deal a death warrant: AAP slams Centre over tariffs

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 21, 2026 18:51 IST

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led central government over the India-US trade deal, calling it a “death warrant” for Indian farmers and businessmen.

Citing remarks by US President Donald Trump, AAP alleged that the agreement favours the United States at India’s expense. The party referred to Trump’s statement that, “Nothing changes, they’ll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs,” when asked about the impact of a recent US Supreme Court ruling on the trade agreement being finalised with India.

Trump made the remarks on Friday after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down his earlier reciprocal tariffs. In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court invalidated Trump’s worldwide tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), ruling that the 1977 statute does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs.

Despite the ruling, Trump said there would be no change to the India-US trade deal. “So we made a deal with India, it's a fair deal now, and we are not paying tariffs to them, and they are paying tariffs. We did a little flip,” he said.

Reacting to these comments, AAP accused the Modi government of misleading the public by portraying the trade agreement as a diplomatic win. The party said Trump’s assertion that “India will be paying tariffs, but America will not” contradicts the government’s claim of securing a balanced deal.

In a statement, AAP said the trade deal would severely hurt Indian traders and farmers. It described the agreement as a “death warrant” for these sections and criticised the government for celebrating it as a success.

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