India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected the characterisation of ongoing developments around India-US trade negotiations by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
In a podcast broadcast on X on 8 January, Lutnick claimed that the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) couldn't come to fruition because Prime Minister Narendra Modi hadn't called up President Donald Trump in time.
Addressing the weekly briefing in New Delhi on Friday, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted that India and the US have been committed to negotiating a trade deal since 13 February last year, when PM Modi paid a visit to the White House to meet President Trump.
"Since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiation to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal. The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate," Jaiswal said in response to a question.
We remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and look forward to concluding it. Incidentally, Prime Minister and President Trump have also spoken on phone on eight occasions during 2025, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership, the MEA Spokesperson stated.
In response to another question on whether Modi addressed Trump as 'Sir', Jaiswal said that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump share a "friendly relationship" and have always addressed each other with "mutual respect", as per diplomatic norms.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also reacted to a proposed bill in US Congress that seeks to impose further tariffs (on top of 25% already in place) on New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil. In a social media post this week, GOP Senator Lindsey Graham claimed that Trump has "greenlit" the bill and that the Senate vote on it could happen next week.
Jaiswal stated that India was "closely following" the developments around the bill.
Amid US pressure on India to cut down its energy imports from Russia, the MEA Spokesperson reiterated New Delhi's stance on the broader energy sourcing policy.
"In this endeavor, we are guided by the evolving dynamics of the global market and by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people," Jaiswal underscored.
On the illegal seizing of Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera by the US in the North Atlantic Ocean, Jaiswal told reporters that India was "ascertaining the details" from concerned authorities as the crew of the vessel involved three Indian sailors.
'India Stands for Multilateralism' - MEA
In response to a question about US withdrawal from 66 multilateral groupings through a presidential Executive Order (EO) on Thursday, Jaiswal reaffirmed India's faith in multilateralism.
The US has also withdrawn from the India-led and backed International Solar Alliance (ISA).
"Since its inception, the International Solar Alliance has made significant progress in advancing its mandate to promote solar energy deployment and cooperation among its 125 member countries. We will continue to advance its goals," Jaiswal said.
India stands for multilateralism and believes that global issues need consultative and collaborative action by all countries, the MEA Spokesperson underscored.