India has firmly rejected claims by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the proposed India–US trade deal failed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak to US President Donald Trump. Terming the remarks “inaccurate,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Prime Minister Modi had spoken to President Trump eight times in 2025 and that negotiations had come close to a deal on several occasions.
Addressing a media briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and the US have been committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since February 13 last year. “Since then, the two 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. The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate,” he said.
Lutnick, in a recent interview, had claimed that although negotiations were advanced, the deal did not materialise because Prime Minister Modi did not personally call President Trump. He suggested that such a call was necessary to finalise what he described as “Trump’s deal.”
The MEA also defended India’s continued purchases of Russian oil, stating that global market realities and the need to ensure affordable energy for 1.4 billion people guide India’s decisions. Jaiswal said India is closely monitoring a Trump-backed bill proposing 500 per cent tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, including India, China and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the trade tensions have weighed on financial markets. Indian equities began 2026 on a weak note, extending losses to a fifth consecutive session on Friday. Investor sentiment has been further strained by an anticipated US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs imposed under an economic emergency. According to NSDL data, foreign portfolio investors have withdrawn nearly ₹12,000 crore from Indian equities so far in 2026.
Despite the current friction, India reiterated its interest in concluding a trade agreement. “India remains keen on a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies,” Jaiswal said, expressing optimism about future progress.
