India pushes back at Trump aide's claim about US trade deal breakdown

 

India pushes back at Trump aide's claim about US trade deal breakdown

20 hours ago

Cherylann Mollan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gvp5gyd7xo

 

India has pushed back at US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's claims that the trade deal between the countries stalled because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call President Donald Trump.

 

Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August, including a penalty for buying Russian oil, after the talks stalled.

 

Both sides are now back to negotiating a deal but there is no clarity on when it will materialise and several informal deadlines have been missed.

 

Key sticking points remain even now - including agriculture. Washington has been pushing for greater access to India's farm sector but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

 

However, Lutnick suggested the deal was close to completion at the start.

 

"It was all set up. I said [to the Indian side] you got to have Modi call the president. They were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn't call," Lutnick said in a podcast released on Friday.

 

The White House has not yet commented on Lutnick's assertions.

 

India, however, said on Friday that the characterisation of the discussions between Delhi and Washington in the remarks made by Lutnick was "not accurate".

 

"India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as far back as 13 February last year. Since then both sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.

 

He added that Modi and Trump had spoken on the phone eight times last year, covering "covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership".

 

Speaking on the All-In Podcast, a business and technology show hosted by four venture capitalists, Lutnick said that Trump's philosophy of making deals was like a "staircase" - meaning the "first stair gets the best deal".

 

He said that India was the second country to enter into negotiations with the US for a trade deal after the UK, and that Washington gave Delhi "three Fridays" to close the deal. His role, Lutnick said, was to negotiate the contracts and set up the whole deal but that Trump was the one who closed them - and that India's reluctance to set up the phone call meant the agreement ran into trouble.

 

He added that after that, US closed a slew of deals with other countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam.

 

He also said that when India got back later saying they were ready to take the initial deal, "the train had left the station".

 

But the terms of the deal that Lutnick claims India missed are unclear. Agriculture, for instance, has been a key sticking point in the negotiations - Washington has been pushing for greater access to India's farm sector but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

 

In December, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told senators in Washington that the US had received the "best ever offer" from India. He also called India a "tough nut to crack".

 

Trump has also made several comments about India and Modi in recent days, including warning of an increase in tariffs if Delhi does not stop buying Russian oil.

 

India ramped up its purchase of cheaper oil from Moscow after the Ukraine war. Delhi had defended its decision saying that it needed to think about the energy needs of its vast population.

 

Since the tariffs kicked in, oil refiners in India have been cutting their purchases from Moscow, according to several reports.

 

Lutnick's comments come two days after US Senator Lindsey Graham said that Trump had "greenlit" a punishing Russia sanctions bill that, if passed by Congress, would allow for even higher secondary tariffs and sanctions on countries doing business with Moscow.

 

Jaiswal said on Friday that India was "aware of the proposed bill" and was "closely following developments", reiterating the country's stance on the energy needs of its population.

 

Despite the 50% tariffs, India's good exports to the US jumped more than 22% in November from a year earlier.

 

The tariffs and the accompanying rhetoric have put a strain on the relationship between India and the US. Modi, who has shared a warm relationship with Trump, was among the first world leaders to visit the White House after the president was sworn in.

 

But since then, the relationship has gone downhill.

 

Delhi has repeatedly denied claims by Trump that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May. In June, India said that Modi had told Trump that Delhi would never accept third-party mediation with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir.

 

Since then, the two leaders have spoken on the phone a few times, including in September when Trump called to wish Modi on his birthday.