India-US trade talks: We remain interested in mutually beneficial trade deal, says MEA

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that India and the US are committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since February last year, with multiple rounds of discussions held. He assured that India aims for a mutually beneficial deal.

Speaking on the India-US trade deal, Randhir Jaiswal, during the MEA weekly press briefing, said, “India and the United States were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far back as the 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.”

He added, “We remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies, and look forward to concluding it."

PM Modi and President Trump spoke eight times

Jaiswal also informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke over the phone eight times last year.

“Incidentally, Prime Minister and President Trump have also spoken on the phone on eight occasions in 2025, covering various aspects of our wide-ranging. work. work. 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 said.

US Commerce Secretary's claim

MEA's clarification comes after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a podcast, claimed that PM Modi “didn't call” President Trump when needed, while revealing the reasons behind the higher tariffs against India and the delay in the US-India trade deal.

“We told India you had three Fridays. You put them on a shot clock. Well, they have to get it done because what happens is I have lots of other countries, and when those other countries do their deal, the staircase goes up,” Lutnick said.

The US Commerce Secretary added, “He's [Trump] the [deal] closer. He does the deal. So I said, You've got to have Modi. It's all set up. You have to have Modi call the president.”

But, “they [India] were uncomfortable doing it. So, Modi didn't call…that Friday left...,” he said.

In August, Trump increased tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, the highest level, which included a 25% levy as retaliation for India's purchases of Russian oil.

Lutnick's comments followed Trump's increased push for negotiations, as he warned this week that tariffs might escalate further if India does not reduce its Russian oil imports.