India has formally responded to assertions made by a senior aide of former President Donald Trump regarding the stalled bilateral trade agreement between the two nations. This came in light of comments suggesting that the lack of a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump was a principal reason for the breakdown in negotiations.
On February 13, 2022, India and the United States did exactly that by laying the groundwork for resuming India-US trade talks. Agreement framework Both countries agreed to an expanded negotiation of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement. Clashes have emerged as, unusual for the U.S. in these negotiations, the U.S. announced a hard deadline, giving India “three Fridays” to complete the deal. The tightness of this timeframe added an air of urgency to these negotiations and underscored how crucially important this agreement was to both countries.
India’s been slow to set up a Modi—Trump phone call. This reluctance has allegedly helped lead to the failure to reach agreement after delay. None of this is to understate the challenges, but both countries have been within hours of reaching agreement several times. Or in 2022 Modi and Trump talking eight terrific times on the telephone. They explained how they went about developing all the different facets of their mile-long partnership.
U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, noted the extraordinary gesture of India. He referred to it as the “greatest ever offer” made to the United States. This valuable partnership has been rocked by the hefty 232 tariffs levied by Trump. In August 2022, he signed a 50% tariff on a number of Indian goods. This decision was accompanied by fines related to India’s purchase of Russian oil amid increasing geopolitical confrontations.
India’s exports to the U.S. surged by more than 22% in November over the same month last year. This increase indicates a strong ongoing demand for Indian products, despite the continuation of the tariffs. Yet today, the disruptive tariffs and their inflammatory rhetoric cast an ugly pall over US-China relations. Agriculture is the most contentious issue in the negotiating quagmire. The U.S. wants more access to India’s farm sector, but India is doubling down on its agricultural watchdogs.
As negotiations hit a snag, Trump had some very ominous threats. Specifically, he threatened significant tariff increases if India continues to import oil from Russia, given current world events including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In retaliation, India quickly expanded its import of discounted crude from Russia. They managed and prioritized their energy needs across their huge, populous empire—before, and separate from, actual geopolitical pressures.
Delhi’s defense of its decision to procure Russian oil emphasized a pragmatic approach to energy needs amid global supply uncertainties. India’s trade ministry has pushed back against claims made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that Modi’s failure to initiate a call with Trump was a significant factor in halting progress on the trade agreement.