Final Up to date:January 09, 2026, 21:39 IST
MEA stated India and the US have been dedicated to negotiating a bilateral commerce settlement since February 13 final yr.
US President Donald Trump with PM Modi. (Picture: Reuters/File)
India rejected remarks by the US Commerce Secretary suggesting {that a} bilateral commerce settlement didn’t materialise as a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t personally name US President Donald Trump, saying the characterisation of the negotiations was “not correct”.
Responding to the feedback, the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) stated, “We have now seen the remarks. India and the US have been dedicated to negotiating a bilateral commerce settlement with the US way back to 13 February final yr. Since then, the 2 sides have held a number of rounds of negotiation to reach at a balanced and mutually helpful commerce settlement.”
“On a number of events, now we have been near a deal. The characterisation of those discussions within the reported remarks just isn’t correct,” the MEA stated.
Emphasising that New Delhi stays dedicated to concluding an settlement, the ministry added, “We stay occupied with a mutually helpful commerce deal between two complementary economies and stay up for concluding it.”
The MEA additionally pushed again towards ideas of a scarcity of political engagement on the highest degree, noting that “Prime Minister and President Trump have additionally spoken on telephone on eight events throughout 2025, masking completely different points of our wide-ranging partnership”.
The response follows feedback by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who stated in a podcast {that a} commerce take care of India didn’t occur as a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t name US President Donald Trump to shut the settlement.
Howard Lutnick stated he had requested the Indian Prime Minister to talk on to Donald Trump however claimed India was “uncomfortable” doing so.
“So Modi didn’t name,” he stated, including that India “wasn’t prepared” to conclude the deal on the time. The US Commerce Secretary stated Washington went forward and concluded commerce agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, assuming that the India deal can be finalised earlier.
“We did Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and we introduced an entire bunch of offers,” Howard Lutnick stated, including, “So now the issue is that the offers got here out at the next price. After which India calls again and says, ‘Oh, okay, we’re prepared.’ I stated, ‘Prepared for what?’”
India and the US have held six rounds of negotiations on a proposed bilateral commerce settlement, together with discussions on a framework to handle 50 per cent tariffs on Indian items coming into the American market.
Delhi, India, India
January 09, 2026, 16:34 IST
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