Washington DC (US)

United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has claimed that the trade deal between India and the United States did not happen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not place a call to US President Donald Trump.

In a conversation with American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, as part of the 'All-In Podcast' on Thursday (local time), Lutnick said that while contracts were negotiated and the entire deal structure was prepared, the final step required direct, leader-level engagement.

"I would negotiate the contracts and set the whole deal up, but let's be clear. It's his (Trump's) deal. He's the closer. He does it. It's all set up, you got to have Modi, call the President. They were uncomfortable doing it. So Modi didn't call. That Friday left, in the next week we did Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, we announced a whole bunch of deals," the US Commerce Secretary said.

Lutnick went on to explain Trump's broader trade negotiation strategy, describing it as a "staircase" model. According to him, countries that moved first received the best possible terms, while those that followed later were offered progressively higher rates.

Referring to the first trade deal with the United Kingdom, Lutnick said Trump was repeatedly asked about which country would be next, and India was publicly named multiple times.

India, he said, was given "three Fridays" to close the deal, effectively putting it on a "short clock."

However, according to Lutnick, India did not meet the deadline and as a result, the US moved ahead with trade agreements with several Asian countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, announcing a series of deals across Asia.

Lutnick said these agreements were negotiated at higher rates, as the US had initially assumed that India's deal would be completed earlier. When India later approached the US, around three weeks after the deadline, seeking to proceed, it was told that the opportunity had passed.

Earlier in September, Lutnick stated that despite India maintaining a firm position on continuing oil trade with Russia, New Delhi would eventually return to the table to strike a deal with Washington in the coming months.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Lutnick had said, "So I think, yes, in a month or two months, I think India is going to be at the table and they're going to say they're sorry and they're going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump."

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He further cautioned that India would face consequences if it failed to align with the US. "If India does not support the United States, they will have to pay 50 per cent tariffs on its exports to the US," he warned.

Trump has imposed tariffs on countries that were major exporters to the US, including India and China. There is a 50 per cent tariffs on goods from India entering the United States since August 2025.