New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday (September 12) has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “gifting a huge bonanza” to American farmers at the expense of Indian farmers by slashing the import duty on Washington apples.
“When Modi was not the prime minister, he used to call Himachal Pradesh his second home. He had promised that he would levy 100% import duty on Washington apples which are imported to India from the US,” said Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
She continued: “…But after becoming prime minister, according to reports, during the G20 summit, the [Union] government has decided that Washington apples will only have an import duty of 15%, by slashing it from 70% to 15%.”
“This is a commitment that Modi has made to the US. But when he made this commitment he forgot that when he was going to the US in June, he had promised to lower the import duty from 70% to 50%.
“Then he received a state dinner in the US, [and] a defence deal was sealed. And now that the US visited India, he has given them this gift. All hosts should be like Modi.”
The revision of tariff, which has chopped off an extra 20% from the 70% tariff imposed since 2019 by New Delhi on the premium Washington apples, was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June.
The decision came into effect after a finance ministry notification dated September 5 said that India had removed additional duties on about half a dozen US products including chickpeas, lentils (masur), apples, walnuts in shell and almonds fresh or dried, as well as almonds shelled, reported the Press Trust of India.
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The finance ministry’s notification came just days ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to India for the G20 summit held last weekend, which included a bilateral meeting between the two leaders on Friday – a day before the summit started.
Earlier in a statement on June 26, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had announced that with the decision of “resolution of six outstanding World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes between US and India through mutually agreed solutions as jointly communicated during the official state visit of the prime minister to the USA, India will remove additional duties on eight US products, including apples, leading to restoration of market access for Indian steel and [aluminium] exports to the US.”
“The decision will not result in any negative impact on domestic apple producers and will result in competition in premium market segment ensuring better quality at better prices for consumers,” the commerce ministry had then said.
The government in 2019 had imposed an additional 20% duty on US apples in response to the US’ measure to increase tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products.
The move to lower the import duty has also been criticised by opposition parties in Kashmir, and led to growing concerns among Kashmiri traders and apple growers who fear that the industry will be adversely affected.
Shrinate said that in order to protect Indian farmers, higher import duties are needed on apples coming from the US.
“India produces some of the best apples in the world, about 60% of production happens in Jammu and Kashmir, 25-30% in Himachal Pradesh and the rest in Uttarakhand and as a measure of protecting our own farmers, we need higher import duties on apples coming from Washington.
“Remember, in the United States, apples are produced by large corporations. In the United States, the government heavily subsidises production of apples by giving steep subsidies on fertiliser, on pesticides, on seeds, on various other things.
“So, why has the Modi government decided to benefit American farmers? Why has it gifted a huge bonanza to American farmers at the cost of our own farmers, at a time when Himachal Pradesh is dealing with the worst ever natural disaster that has almost cost a damage of Rs 10,000 crores?
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“Why is the government not being forthright in helping farmers? Why is the government attacking the five lakh people who directly produce apples in Himachal Pradesh?”
Shrinate said that the Modi government should reconsider its decision and prioritise Indian farmers.
“How is it justified to put your own farmers in peril at the cost of bonanza being offered to US farmers? There is no way to justify this and I think [the] government must rethink this, they must prioritise Indian farmers and especially in states that are dealing with natural disasters,” she added.
“No negative impact on domestic apples”
Also on Tuesday, the commerce ministry said that the government’s decision will not have any negative impact on domestic apples.
“This measure will not result in any negative impact on domestic apple, walnut and almond producers. Rather, it will result in competition in the premium market segment of apples, walnuts and almonds, thereby ensuring better quality at competitive prices for our Indian consumers. Thus, the US apples, walnuts and almonds would compete on the same level playing field as all other countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The market share of the US apples dwindled as other countries benefited from the imposition of additional retaliatory duties on the US apple and walnut imports. This is evident in the increase of apple imports from countries besides the US, from US$ 160 million in FY 2018-19 to US$ 290 million in FY 2022-23. Turkey, Italy, Chile, Iran, and New Zealand emerged as prominent apple exporters to India, effectively acquiring the market share once held by the US.”
“Don’t need certificate from BJP on sanatan dharma”
Shrinate also hit out at the BJP after former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a press conference on Tuesday demanded that the Congress clarify its position on DMK youth wing leader and Tamil Nadu sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who has stuck by remarks he made recently about the need to eradicate sanatan dharma.
While Stalin’s remarks have been widely criticised by the BJP, Prasad questioned the Congress’ silence on his remarks.
“Sanatan dharma is being criticised by the Congress’ alliance partners and yet the top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are silent.”
“Is their silence a tacit support to such remarks?” asked Prasad while asking the Congress to clarify its position.
Shrinate said that the Congress does not need certificates on sanatan dharma from the BJP.
“We don’t need certificates from the BJP on three things – nationalism, sanatan dharma and contribution to the freedom struggle. Because their [the BJP’s] contribution to all three is nil. The Congress party believes in sarva dharma sambhav [all religions are the same] and we don’t need a certificate from anyone on this,” she said.