India’s commerce pact with the US was delayed as a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t make a phone name to US President Donald Trump to shut a deal they have been negotiating, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned on Friday.
The commerce talks fell aside final yr and Trump doubled tariffs on Indian items in August to 50 %, the world’s highest fee, together with a levy of 25 % in retaliation for India’s purchases of Russian oil.
“It is all arrange and you’ve got to have Modi name the president. They usually have been uncomfortable doing it,” Lutnick mentioned in an interview on the All-In podcast, a US present by 4 enterprise capitalists that focuses on enterprise and expertise. “So Modi did not name.”
The feedback got here after Trump stepped up the strain for talks with a warning this week that tariffs may rise additional until India curbs its Russian oil imports.
That step pushed the Indian rupee to a file low and spooked buyers ready for progress in two-way negotiations for a commerce deal that continues to be elusive.
India nonetheless seeks a tariff fee between Washington’s gives to Britain and Vietnam that had beforehand been agreed however the provide has expired, Lutnick added.
India’s commerce ministry didn’t instantly reply to an e-mailed request for touch upon Lutnick’s remarks.
New Delhi and Washington have been very near a commerce deal final yr however a communication breakdown led to the collapse of any potential pact. Reuters reported.
It cited an Indian authorities official concerned within the talks as saying that Modi couldn’t have referred to as Trump, for worry {that a} one-sided dialog would put him on the spot.
‘Not correct’
Nevertheless, India mentioned on Friday that Lutnick’s remarks have been “not correct” and didn’t replicate the discussions between Delhi and Washington, reported the The BBC.
“India and the US have been dedicated to negotiating a bilateral commerce settlement way back to February 13 final yr. Since then, each side have held a number of rounds of negotiations to reach at a balanced and mutually helpful commerce settlement. On a number of events, now we have been near a deal,” mentioned overseas ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The spokesperson added that the Indian prime minister had spoken with the US president eight occasions on the cellphone in 2025, “protecting totally different facets of our wide-ranging partnership”.
