India rejects US’ inaccurate claims on failed trade deal
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addressed a media conference in New Delhi on Friday
| Photo Credit:
ANI
India has rejected claims made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the India-US trade deal did not happen because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak to US President Donald Trump.
Dubbing the claims “inaccurate,” the MEA said that Modi had, in fact, spoken to Trump eight times in 2025 and on several occasions, India and the US came close to striking the trade deal.
Official Denial
“India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far back as 13 February last year. Since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiation 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,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing on Friday.
Lutnick had said in an interview that India and the US were close to a deal, but it did not happen because the Indian PM did not call the US President. 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.” Lutnick said.
The MEA spokesperson defended India’s Russian oil purchases, stating that global market conditions and the need to provide affordable energy to 1.4 billion people shape the country’s strategy.
He said India is monitoring the Trump-led bill proposing 500 per cent tariffs on Russian oil buyers, including India, China, and Brazil.
Market strain
The trade tensions between India and the US have severely impacted the market, with the domestic equities kicking off 2026 on a weak footing, extending their losing streak to a fifth straight session on Friday.
The US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, imposed by invoking economic emergency, is expected to add to market volatility. Foreign portfolio investors pulled out nearly ₹12,000 crore in Indian equities in 2026, according to NSDL data.
On a positive note, Jaiswal said India remained interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between the “two complementary economies” and look forward to concluding it.
With inputs from Bengaluru Bureau
Published on January 9, 2026
