Did Narendra Modi Refuse To Pick 4 Phone Calls From Trump? German Newspaper Makes THIS Claim Amid US Tariff Row

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to take at least four phone calls from US President Donald Trump recently, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has reported.

This comes against the backdrop of the row over US tariffs levied on India.

FAZ, which has examined the ongoing India-US tariff dispute, also said that President Trump's usual methods in trade conflicts - complaints, threats, and pressure - were not working in India's case as they have with other countries.

“There are signs indicating that Modi felt insulted,” FAZ claimed, adding that Modi's refusal to speak to Trump demonstrates the depth of his irritation and his caution.

The report came a few days of new tariff measures by the US on India taking effect on Wednesday, 27 August, raising the overall tariff burden on Indian goods to nearly 50 per cent.

A Japanese newspaper, Nikkei Asia, has made similar claims, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided President Donald Trump's calls, "heightening Trump's frustration."

LiveMint couldn't verify the claims and there were no comments on these reports from either Indian or the US side.

Thorsten Benner, co-founder and director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, shared a copy of the report on X, writing:“FAZ claims that Trump tried to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi four times in recent weeks but that Modi refused the calls.”

The report did not specify the dates of these calls but assume signficance amid the ongoing row over Trump tariffs on India.

The FAZ report also said perceptions of President Trump in India have shifted considerably because of his overtures to Pakistan in recent weeks in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.

Trump has repeatedly targeted India for its trade surplus and claiming credit for brokering a peace between the two nuclear-armed nations after four-days of military conflict in May.

On 27 August, Trump once again claimed credit for his role in the truce between India and Pakistan. Trump said he personally intervened between the two nuclear-armed countries and used trade and tariff threats to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi into agreeing to a ceasefire with Islamabad.

On 6 August, the United States raised tariffs on Indian goods by 25 to 50 per cent, citing New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products, which are financing“Putin's war machine” in Ukraine.

“I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together,” Trump said on July 31.

The tariffs take effect on Wednesday, 27 August.

There are signs indicating that Modi felt insulted.

The newspaper has also claimed that one-fifth of Indian exports go to the United States and new tariffs could slow India's economic growth to 5.5 per cent, down from an expected 6.5 per cent.

(With agency inputs)

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