New York, Jan 9 (PTI) – The proposed trade deal between India and the United States did not materialize because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call US President Donald Trump, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
Lutnick’s comments follow Trump’s earlier remark that he was dissatisfied with India’s purchases of Russian oil and that Washington could impose tariffs on Indian goods “very quickly,” amid ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement.
Six rounds of negotiations have taken place so far, including discussions on resolving the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to the US. Lutnick, speaking on a podcast on Thursday, said he had requested Modi to call Trump to finalize the deal, but India was “uncomfortable” doing so, resulting in no call being made.
He added that the US went on to sign trade deals with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, expecting the India deal to be completed beforehand. “We negotiated those deals assuming India would be done first, so now the problem is the deals came out at a higher rate. Then India calls back and says, ‘Oh, okay, we are ready.’ I said, ready for what,” Lutnick said.
Category: Breaking News
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