In brief
India has pushed back against assertions by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the stalled bilateral trade deal is due to a lack of communication from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Trump. With ongoing negotiations and key sticking points like agriculture, both nations are attempting to resolve their trade disagreements despite previous missed deadlines. India's foreign ministry spokesperson stressed that discussions have been ongoing, with several negotiations already taking place since last year.
India has pushed back at US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's claims that the trade deal between the countries stalled because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call President Donald Trump.
Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August, including a penalty for buying Russian oil, after the talks stalled.
Both sides are now back to negotiating a deal but there is no clarity on when it will materialize and several informal deadlines have been missed.
Key sticking points remain even now - including agriculture. Washington has been pushing for greater access to India's farm sector but Delhi has fiercely protected it.
However, Lutnick suggested the deal was close to completion at the start.
It was all set up. I said [to the Indian side] you got to have Modi call the president. They were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn't call, Lutnick said in a podcast released on Friday.
The White House has not yet commented on Lutnick's assertions.
India, however, said on Friday that the characterization of the discussions between Delhi and Washington in the remarks made by Lutnick was not accurate.
India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as far back as 13 February last year. Since then both sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.
He added that Modi and Trump had spoken on the phone eight times last year, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership.
Jaiswal stated that despite the 50% tariffs, India's good exports to the US jumped more than 22% in November from a year earlier.
The tariffs and the accompanying rhetoric have put a strain on the relationship between India and the US. Modi, who shared a warm relationship with Trump during their earlier interactions, now faces challenges as trade negotiations continue amid geopolitical complexities.
