Jaishankar speaking language of 70s by railing against FTAs: Chidambaram

'I must express my dismay over the speech by foreign minister... when he railed against trade agreements and praised the virtues of protectionism,' Chidambaram says

Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday expressed dismay over external affairs minister S Jaishankar's statement, saying it was against trade agreements and in favour of protectionism.

"I must express my dismay over the speech by foreign minister... when he railed against trade agreements and praised the virtues of protectionism," Chidambaram tweeted.

"Jaishankar was speaking in the language and in the words that I heard in the 1970s and 1980s," said the senior Congress leader.

The external affairs minister had said on Monday that India has allowed other countries “unfair” trade and manufacturing advantages “in the name of openness”.

“In the name of openness, we have allowed subsidised products and unfair production advantages from abroad to prevail. And all the while, this was justified by the mantra of an open and globalised economy,” Jaishankar had said.