India has strongly refuted remarks made by United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who suggested that the long-pending India–US trade agreement failed to move forward because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not make a phone call to US President Donald Trump.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the assertion, calling the characterisation of the negotiations “not accurate,” and emphasised that both countries have been engaged in sustained and substantive discussions on a bilateral trade pact for more than a year.
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MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and the United States had committed to negotiating a trade agreement as early as February 13 last year and have since conducted multiple rounds of talks aimed at achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.
“We have seen the remarks. India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as far back as February 13 last year,” Jaiswal said. “On several occasions, we have been close to a deal. The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.”
The MEA reiterated that discussions between New Delhi and Washington have been ongoing in a constructive manner, underlining both sides’ continued interest in finalising a comprehensive trade agreement.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
