India-US trade deal stalled as Modi did not call Trump, claims US commerce secretary

The proposed trade deal between India and the United States because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call US President Donald Trump, the country’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed on Friday.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, Lutnick said that he had set up the deal but finalising it required Modi to call Trump directly.

Lutnick claimed that India was “uncomfortable” with this step and that the call never happened. The US moved on and concluded trade deals with other countries, he added.

“I set the deal up,” he said. “But you had to have Modi call President Trump. They were uncomfortable with it. So, Modi didn’t call.”

He said that the US had assumed that the agreement with India would be completed before agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The negotiations with those countries were conducted on that assumption, he added.

“So now the problem is, that the deals came out at a higher rate and then...