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US Official Blames Modi for Failed Trade Deal
(MENAFN) A senior figure in the Trump administration has claimed that an India-US trade agreement failed to materialize because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not comply with Washington’s request to call the US president to finalize the deal.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the assertion during a podcast aired on Thursday. He was responding to a question about what was delaying the accord after multiple rounds of negotiations.
“I had set the whole deal up. But let’s be clear. It is his deal. He is the closer. He does it. But you had to have Modi call President Trump,” Lutnick said, insisting he had relayed this condition to the Indian side. “They (India) were uncomfortable with it. So, Modi didn’t call,” he added.
The Indian Foreign Ministry quickly rejected Lutnick’s remarks. “The characterization of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate,” spokesman Randhir Jaiswal stated on Friday. He emphasized that India “remains interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and looks forward to concluding it.”
India and the US have already conducted six rounds of negotiations on the proposed agreement. In August, Washington imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, half of which was described as a penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the assertion during a podcast aired on Thursday. He was responding to a question about what was delaying the accord after multiple rounds of negotiations.
“I had set the whole deal up. But let’s be clear. It is his deal. He is the closer. He does it. But you had to have Modi call President Trump,” Lutnick said, insisting he had relayed this condition to the Indian side. “They (India) were uncomfortable with it. So, Modi didn’t call,” he added.
The Indian Foreign Ministry quickly rejected Lutnick’s remarks. “The characterization of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate,” spokesman Randhir Jaiswal stated on Friday. He emphasized that India “remains interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and looks forward to concluding it.”
India and the US have already conducted six rounds of negotiations on the proposed agreement. In August, Washington imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, half of which was described as a penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
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