India refutes US claim on trade deal, says Modi spoke to Trump 8 times

India on Friday (January 9) refuted US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s claim that the trade deal between the two countries did not materialise as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call President Donald Trump. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed Lutnick’s remarks as “not accurate," stating that PM Modi and President Trump had spoken to each other on eight occasions in 2025 on various aspects of India-US ties.

‘Close to a deal several times’

Speaking to reporters, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the two countries have been close to a trade deal on several occasions.

"We have seen the remarks. India and the United States were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far back as 13th of February last year. That is, since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to reach a balanced, mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal. The characterisation of these discussions, the reported remarks, is not accurate,” said Jaiswal.

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“Incidentally, Prime Minister and President Trump have also spoken on the phone on eight occasions during 2025, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership,” he added as quoted by ANI.

‘PM Modi didn’t call Trump’: Lutnick

Earlier, Lutnick claimed that a proposed trade agreement between India and the United States failed to materialise because PM Modi did not place a call to Trump.

Lutnick made the remarks during a conversation with American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya on the All-In Podcast, aired on Thursday (local time). He said that while negotiations had progressed and the overall structure of the agreement was ready, the final stage depended on direct engagement at the leadership level.

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“I would negotiate the contracts and set the whole deal up, but let's be clear. It's his (Trump's) deal. He's the closer. He does it. It's all set up, you got to have Modi, call the President. They were uncomfortable doing it. So Modi didn't call. That Friday left, in the next week we did Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, we announced a whole bunch of deals,” Lutnick said.

Trump’s 'staircase' approach

He went on to outline what he described as Trump’s broader trade strategy, characterising it as a “staircase” approach. Under this model, Lutnick said, countries that moved quickly were offered the most favourable terms, while those that joined negotiations later faced higher rates.

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Referring to the first trade agreement signed with the United Kingdom, Lutnick said Trump was repeatedly asked which country would follow next, and India was publicly mentioned on multiple occasions. According to him, India was given “three Fridays” to finalise the agreement, effectively placing it on what he described as a “short clock.”

However, Lutnick claimed that India failed to conclude the deal within that timeframe. As a result, the United States proceeded with trade agreements with other Asian countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, announcing a series of deals across the region.

‘India told window had closed’

He added that these agreements were finalised at higher rates, as the US had initially expected India’s deal to be completed earlier. When India later approached the US, around three weeks after the deadline, seeking to move forward, it was informed that the window had closed.

The Trump administration has since imposed tariffs on several major exporters to the United States, including India and China. Goods from India entering the US have been subject to a 50 per cent tariff since August 2025.