New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of cheating cotton farmers and textile exporters in the country over the India-US interim trade deal and said the agreement is likely to inflict deep damage on both sectors.

In a post on X, he said the government has neither protected the interests of cotton farmers nor that of textile exporters as a visionary government would have negotiated a deal that protected both and ensured prosperity for both the sectors.

"18 per cent Tariff vs 0 per cent - Let me explain how the Prime Minister and his cabinet are spreading confusion on this issue. And how they are cheating India's cotton farmers and textile exporters through the India-US trade deal," he said in his post.

Gandhi said Bangladesh is being given zero per cent tariff benefit on garment exports to the US - the only condition is that they import American cotton.

"After the announcement of 18 percent tariff on Indian garments, when I raised the question in Parliament about the special concession being given to Bangladesh, the reply from a minister of the Modi government was: 'If we also want the same benefit, we will have to import cotton from America'.

"Why was this fact hidden from the country till now? And what kind of policy is this? Is this really any kind of choice - or is it a trap designed to push us into a 'well in front, ditch behind' situation," he asked.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, "If we import American cotton, our own farmers will be ruined. If we don't import it, our textile industry will lag behind and get destroyed." And now, he claimed, Bangladesh is also giving signals that it may reduce or even stop importing cotton from India.

The textile industry and cotton farming are the backbone of livelihood in India, he noted, adding that crores of people's daily bread depend on these very sectors. Attacking these sectors means pushing millions of families into the pit of unemployment and economic crisis, Gandhi claimed.

"A visionary government that thinks in the national interest would have negotiated a deal that protects and ensures the prosperity of both cotton farmers and textile exporters.

"But exactly the opposite has happened — Narendra 'Surrender' Modi and his ministers have made an agreement that is likely to inflict deep damage on both sectors," he said in his post. PTI SKC ZMN

Tariff discrimination threatens cotton farmers and textile exporters by conditioning zero-duty access on importing US cotton. Allegations concern an interim India-US trade arrangement that gives a third country conditional zero duty access for garments if they import American cotton while Indian exporters face a higher tariff, creating a tariff differential that may pressure Indian textile firms to source foreign cotton, undermine domestic cotton producers, and risk market diversion away from Indian cotton.