New Delhi- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday rejected comments made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggesting that India–US trade negotiations stalled because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call former US President Donald Trump.
Responding to the remarks, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.”
He reaffirmed India’s position, stating that the country remains committed to finalising a mutually beneficial trade agreement. “India remains interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and looks forward to concluding it,” Jaiswal added.
Lutnick had claimed on Thursday that the proposed trade agreement failed to materialise after President Trump did not receive a call from Prime Minister Modi, following which the US moved ahead with trade agreements with other countries.
Clarifying the timeline, Jaiswal said that India and the United States have been engaged in trade negotiations since February 13 last year. “Since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement,” he said.
He further noted that on several occasions, both sides had come close to finalising the deal. “Incidentally, the Prime Minister and President Trump have also spoken on the phone on eight occasions in 2025, discussing various aspects of our wide-ranging partnership,” Jaiswal added.
The US Commerce Secretary had earlier stated that he asked Prime Minister Modi to personally call President Trump to conclude the deal, but claimed that India was “uncomfortable” doing so. He also said that the US went on to finalise trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, even though Washington had initially expected the India deal to be concluded first.
Lutnick remarked that the US announced several trade deals after negotiating them at higher rates, assuming India would finalise its agreement earlier. He claimed that when India later expressed readiness to conclude the deal, the circumstances had changed.
India, however, has maintained that the negotiations are ongoing and that it remains fully engaged in efforts to reach a fair and balanced trade agreement with the United States.
With inputs from IANS