US Trade Deal: India Strongly Reacts On 'Modi-Trump Call', Says 'Characterization Inaccurate'

New Delhi: India on Friday said it had been close to a trade deal with the United States on several occasions, and the characterisation by the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about it was "not accurate."

"On several occasions, we have been close to a deal. The characterization of these discussions, the reported remarks, is not accurate," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly presser.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump have spoken over phone on several occasions over the past year, covering different aspects of wide ranging partnership between India and the US, Jaiswal said.

"We have seen the remarks. India and the United States were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far as far back as 13th of February last year. That is, since then, two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement," he said.

"India remains interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies, and look forward to concluding it," the MEA spokesperson said.

India's Response to US' 500% Tariff Threat

Responding to a proposed bill in the United States Congress that seeks to impose a 500% duty on countries continuing to purchase Russian oil, India stated that it remains guided by the imperative of securing "affordable energy" for its 1.4 billion people amid evolving global market dynamics.

Reacting to the proposed legislation, Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi is aware of the bill and is monitoring developments closely.

"We are aware of the proposed bill. We are following the developments closely," Jaiswal said during a weekly press briefing.

Reiterating India's long-standing position on energy sourcing, Jaiswal underlined that New Delhi's decisions are driven by energy security needs and market realities.

"Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavour, we are guided by the evolving dynamics of the global market and the imperative to secure affordable energy for our 1.4 billion people through diverse sources to meet energy security needs," he added.

US Position on Tariffs

MEA's response comes days after US Senator Lindsey Graham said that US President Donald Trump has given a green light to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill, which would give leverage against India, China, and Brazil to stop them from purchasing Russian oil and punish the countries "fuelling Putin's war machine".

In a post on X on Wednesday, Graham said the move comes amid ongoing peace negotiations for Ukraine and hinted it would go to a bipartisan vote next week.

"After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others. This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine," Graham said in his post.

"This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin's bloodbath against Ukraine. I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week," he added.

As per the official website of the US Congress, the bill titled "Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025" seeks to impose several provisions, which include penalties on individuals and entities, including an increase of the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500 per cent relative to the value of such goods and services. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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