New Delhi, Mar 8 (Reporter) The Congress on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "surrendering India’s national and strategic interests to the United States". Referring to the alleged "US President Donald Trump’s announcement that India had agreed to cut the tariffs", Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “140 crore Indians are getting to know our own government’s trade policy through the US President, Trump". “Has the Central Government taken a decision to cut tariffs under pressure by PM Modi’s close friend – Mr Donald Trump?” he asked, and sarcastically added “name Narendra, job surrender”. Khera asked the Prime Minister as to why he had surrendered India’s national and strategic interests? “What was your Minister Piyush Goyal doing in the US, when President Trump announced that India has agreed to reduce tariffs?” he asked, while observing, “isn’t suffering reciprocal tariffs better than reducing own tariffs, after reciprocal tariffs have been announced?” The Congress spokesperson further asked the Prime Minister who had he taken into confidence before taking this strategic decision. He asked whether the Union Cabinet, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the Parliament or political parties had been taken into confidence. He asked, if Canada and Mexico can stand up to Trump forcing him to postpone the imposition of reciprocal tariffs, why can’t the government of India. Alleging that "Modi government’s trade policy was disastrous", the Congress leader said, “if the present concession holds true, Indian Economy – our already failed Make in India, our Aatmnirbhar Bharat plan – would be further crushed by the weight of Modi ji’s surrender”. Pointing out that India-US have had a stable, strong and a valued strategic comprehensive relationship, built over decades of mutual cooperation, Khera said, "Dr Manmohan Singh and George W Bush together navigated the details of the historic Indo-US deal, which was mutually beneficial”. He said, Dr Singh had virtually risked his own government’s political future for the same, but that was in national interest and to end India’s Civil Nuclear apartheid. “Today, PM Modi is doing just the opposite, his government seems to kowtow the line set by Mr. Trump”, the Congress spokesperson said. Khera said, India’s MSMEs, which contribute over 45 percent of India’s exports, will suffer while Modi’s cronies will flourish. Adding that, India’s GDP may take a massive hit up to 10 basis points. He said, the Trade Deficit may rise monumentally, and the Rupee will further weaken. He alleged that Indian agriculture will face challenges at three levels – country-level, product-level competitiveness loss, and increased non-tariff barriers. A blanket tariff hike would reduce the competitiveness of products like rice and frozen shrimp against competitors like Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, the Congress leader added. Higher US tariffs, Khera noted, could push cheap Chinese goods into India, harming local manufacturers. Textiles, pharmaceuticals, and auto components, medical devices face costlier realignments and supply chain disruptions, Khera said...////...