India Still Keen On US Trade Deal, MEA Rejects Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s Remarks | VIDEO

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday reacted to the remarks made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by saying there was inaccuracy in the characterisation of the discussions of the Indo-US trade deal. Lutnick had claimed on a podcast that the India-US FTA deal did not go ahead because Prime Minister Modi did not call President Trump.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal's Statement

Jaiswal stated in response that the “characterization of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.” “We have seen the remarks. 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. Since then, two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement, and on several occasions, we have been close to a deal,” Jaiswal said.

He added. “The characterization of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate. We remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and look forward to concluding it.” The MEA spokesperson went on to say that “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 did not identify the dates. Jaiswal also reacted to a question asking whether Prime Minister Modi had called President Donald Trump “Sir.” In recent remarks, the US president claimed that the Indian prime minister had approached him for the delivery of the long-delayed US Apache helicopters to India and had even called him “Sir.” “Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have always addressed each other with mutual respect as per diplomatic norms.” On the possibility of the US imposing 500% tariffs on the country should it continue to buy Russian oil, Randhir Jaiswal told the media India was “aware of the proposed bill and was closely following developments around it.”

On The Question of Energy Sourcing

Speaking on the question of energy sourcing, Jaiswal said that India’s position on the issue was well known and one that he had spoken about several times in the past. “We are guided by the evolving dynamics in the global market as also the imperative to secure affordable energy for our 1.4 billion people through diverse sources to meet their energy security needs.” Asked for New Delhi’s reaction to the US pulling out of 66 international organizations, including the India-led International Solar Alliance, the MEA spokesperson said India had seen the US announcement.

“We have seen the announcement the US government made where they opted out of several international organizations, including bodies of the United Nations. They also opted out of the International Solar Alliance. On our part, we continue to push for advancing its goals,” he said. Jaiswal added that since its inception, the ISA had made significant progress in promoting solar energy deployment and cooperation among its members. “There are 125 members who are part of the International Solar Alliance at this point in time. More countries will be joining, but we continue to advance its goals. On the larger question, India stands for multilateralism and believes that global issues need consultative and collaborative action by all countries.”

The MEA spokesperson’s attention was also drawn to the recent public filing by a US lobbying firm that stated that it had helped the Indian embassy get in touch with four members of the Trump administration on May 10. It was on May 10 that a ceasefire was declared between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor. Speaking on the issue, Jaiswal said the hiring of lobbying firms was a “normal practice in Washington DC and in the US” carried out by countries, embassies, business establishments, and private organizations.

“On our part, the Indian mission has been hiring such lobbying firms since the 1950s. The details of all these firms are available in the public domain. So if you wish to get to know more details, you can look it up on the relevant website.” The MEA spokesperson did not respond to the specific question about why the lobby firms had been asked to fix meetings or calls with the US officials on May 10 last year. Asked about India’s position on Somaliland and Greenland, in light of fears that Trump may invade the island, Jaiswal said.

“India has longstanding ties with Somalia. We continue to underline the importance of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.” On the question of Greenland, he said. “We have seen the relevant media reports in this regard and are closely following developments.”