India denies US trade deal stalled because ‘Modi didn’t call Trump’

India has refuted claims by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that a trade deal between the two countries has stalled over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to call President Donald Trump.

After negotiations stalled, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August, including penalties for buying Russian oil.

The two sides have now resumed talks to reach a deal, but it’s unclear when that will happen and several informal deadlines have been missed.

Even now, key sticking points remain — including agriculture. Washington has been pushing for greater access to India’s agricultural sector, but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

However, Lutnick said the deal was close to completion from the start.

“Everything was arranged. I said (to the Indian side), you have to let Modi call the president. They didn’t feel comfortable with that, so Modi didn’t call,” Lutnick said in a podcast released on Friday.

The White House has not yet commented on Lutnick’s claims.

However, India said on Friday that the characterization of discussions between Delhi and Washington in Lutnik’s remarks was “inaccurate”.

Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters: “India and the United States were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as early as February 13 last year. Since then, the two sides have conducted multiple rounds of negotiations to reach a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. We have been close to reaching an agreement many times.”

Modi and Trump had spoken on the phone eight times last year, covering “different aspects of our broad partnership,” he added.

Speaking on the All-In Podcast, a business and technology show hosted by four venture capitalists, Lutnick said Trump’s deal philosophy is like a “staircase,” meaning “the first stairway gets the best deal.”

He said India was the second country to negotiate a trade deal with the United States after the United Kingdom and that Washington had given Delhi “three Fridays” to finalize the deal. Lutnick said his role was to negotiate the contract and craft the entire deal, but that Trump was the one who ultimately completed the contract and India’s reluctance to make the call meant the deal was in trouble.

He added that the United States has since reached a series of agreements with other countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam.

He also said that when India later came back and said they were ready to accept the original deal, “the train had already left the station”.

But the terms of the agreement that Lutnick claims India missed out on are unclear. Agriculture, for example, has been a key sticking point in the negotiations – Washington has pushed for greater access to India’s agricultural sector, but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

In December, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Washington senators that the U.S. had received India’s “best offer ever.” He also called India a “hard nut to crack”.

Trump has also made a number of comments about India and Modi in recent days, including warning that he would raise tariffs if Delhi did not stop buying Russian oil.

After the war in Ukraine, India stepped up its efforts to buy cheap oil from Moscow. Delhi defended its decision saying it needed to consider the energy needs of its vast population.

Indian refiners have been reducing purchases from Moscow since the tariffs came into effect, according to several reports.

Lutnick’s comments came two days after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump had “approved” a punitive Russia sanctions bill that, if passed by Congress, would allow for higher secondary tariffs and sanctions on countries that do business with Moscow.

Jaiswal said on Friday that India was “aware of the proposed bill” and was “closely monitoring developments”, reiterating the country’s stance on the energy needs of its population.

India’s exports to US still good despite 50% tariff Jumped The year-on-year growth in November exceeded 22%.

The tariffs and accompanying rhetoric have put pressure on relations between India and the United States. Modi has close ties with Trump and was one of the first world leaders to visit the White House after the president was sworn in.

But since then, relations have gone downhill.

Delhi has repeatedly denied Trump’s claims that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of clashes in May. In June, India said Modi had told Trump that Delhi would Never accept third-party mediation Cooperation with Pakistan on Kashmir.

Since then, the leaders of the two countries have spoken on the phone many times, including in September when Trump called to wish Modi on his birthday.