'Characterisation not accurate': India counters US official's claim linking stalled trade talks to PM Modi

India on Friday rejected claims by a senior US official that stalled trade talks were due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to call President Donald Trump, saying the characterisation of the negotiations is “not accurate.”

Responding to a media query, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and the United States have been engaged in talks on a bilateral trade agreement since February 13 last year and have held multiple rounds of negotiations.

“On several occasions, we have been close to a deal,” Jaiswal said. “The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.”

He asserted that India remains committed to concluding a “mutually beneficial trade agreement between two complementary economies.”

Jaiswal also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump spoke by phone eight times in 2025, covering a range of issues related to the India-US partnership.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in an interview with the All-In Podcast released on Friday, claimed a potential trade deal with India did not materialise because Modi did not call Trump at a critical moment.

He described Trump’s negotiating style as a “staircase,” in which early movers secure better terms.

According to Lutnick, Washington gave India a limited window to finalise an agreement after concluding a deal with the United Kingdom, but said New Delhi was “uncomfortable” initiating a call between the leaders.

“I'll tell you a story about India. I did the first deal with the UK, and we told the UK that they had to get it done by two Fridays from now. That the train was going to leave the station by two Fridays, because I have a lot of other countries doing things, and you know, if someone else is first, they're first. President Trump does deals like a staircase,” Lutnick said.

“(The) first stair gets the best deal. You can't get the best deal after the first guy,” he said.

He recalled that after the UK deal, everyone asked Trump which country will be next and while the president talked about a variety of countries, “but he names India a couple of times publicly".

“And we were talking (with) India, and we told India, ‘you have three Fridays’. Well, they have to get it done,” he said.

Lutnick said that while he would negotiate the contracts with the countries and set the whole deal up, "But let's be clear, it's his (Trump) deal. He is the closer. He does the deal. So I said ‘You got to have Modi, it's all set up, you have to have Modi call the President. They (India) were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn't call.”

He claimed that after the deadline passed, the United States went on to announce trade deals with Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, pushing India “further in the back of the line.”

Lutnick said subsequent talks with India resumed weeks later, but by then other agreements had been reached on less favourable terms.

India and the United States have so far held six rounds of negotiations toward a bilateral trade agreement. The proposed pact includes a framework to address tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods entering the US.