Washington, Jan 09— US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has claimed that a proposed trade deal between India and the United States did not materialise because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not place a direct call to then US President Donald Trump to close the agreement.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast hosted by American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya on Thursday (local time), Lutnick said that while negotiations were completed and the structure of the deal was ready, the final step required leader-level engagement.
“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. You’ve got to have Modi call the President. They were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn’t call,” Lutnick said.
He claimed that India was given multiple opportunities to finalise the deal but failed to meet the deadline. “India was on a short clock. We gave them three Fridays,” Lutnick said, adding that the US subsequently moved forward with trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, announcing a series of deals across Asia.
Explaining Trump’s broader trade strategy, Lutnick described it as a “staircase” model, under which countries that concluded agreements earlier received more favourable terms, while those that followed later faced higher tariff rates.
According to Lutnick, when India approached the US again around three weeks after the deadline, it was informed that the window for the deal had closed.
Lutnick also recalled earlier remarks made in September, when he suggested that India would eventually return to the negotiating table despite maintaining its stance on continuing oil imports from Russia.
Speaking earlier to Bloomberg TV, he had warned that failure to align with US trade expectations could lead to steep tariffs. “If India does not support the United States, they will have to pay 50 per cent tariffs on its exports,” Lutnick had said.
The United States has imposed high tariffs on major exporters, including India and China. Since August 2025, Indian goods entering the US have been subject to 50 per cent tariffs, as per the Trump administration’s trade policy.