New Delhi, Jan 9 (UNI) India on Friday termed as “not accurate” the comments of US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick blaming the collapse of the India-US trade deal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not personally calling up President Donald Trump to “close” the negotiations.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, answering questions at a briefing, also said that India looks forward to concluding a “mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies”.
The spokesperson said:
“We have seen the remarks. India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far back as 13 February last year.
“Since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiation to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal.
“The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate. We remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and look forward to concluding it.
“Incidentally, Prime Minister and President Trump have also spoken on phone on eight occasions during 2025, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership”.
The remarks come as US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick claimed that the trade deal with India collapsed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not personally call President Donald Trump to “close” the negotiations.
In an interview with the All-In Podcast, Lutnick described a negotiation environment where the administration provided India with a specific deadline of “three Fridays” to reach an agreement.
Lutnick explained that the administration employs a “staircase” model for trade negotiations where the first country to sign receives the most favourable terms. “First stair gets the best deal,” Lutnick said.
“You can’t get the best deal after the first guy went”.
Lutnick noted that while he had negotiated the contracts and “set the whole deal up,” the final step required a direct conversation between the two leaders. “I said, ‘You gotta have Modi… call the president’,” he recounted. “They were uncomfortable doing it. So Modi didn’t call.”
India had begun trade talks with the United States in February last year during the visit of PM Modi to Washington.
In August last year, the Trump administration doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, the world’s highest rate, including 25% as a punitive measure for India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Lutnick’s comments come after President Trump warned this week that tariffs could rise further unless India curbs its Russian oil imports. The Trump administration has backed a bill in the US Congress seeking to impose a 500 per cent duty on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil. The US has also withdrawn from the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) among dozens of other international organisations.
The announcements come ahead of the arrival of US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor to Delhi this weekend. Gor had said in September that ensuring India ends its import of Russian oil is a “top priority”.
