MEA: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dismissed claims by the United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the proposed India-USA trade deal failed as PM Modi didn’t called Donald Trump.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Ministry is presently monitoring the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 that seeks to impose 500 percent tariffs. The legislation also proposes secondary sanctions on countries that import Russian energy.
US Senator Lindsey Graham recently said President Trump has given his consent to the bipartisan sanctions bill. The bill would impose punitive sanctions and tariffs on countries like India, China and Brazil that continue purchasing Russian oil and gas.
What Did The MEA Remarked?
Jaiswal remarked that India is still close to a trade deal with the United States. He further remarked that the country is still very much interested in a mutually beneficial deal with the United States.
Jaiswal added that India does not respond to blatant lies or get bullied. Interestingly, Trump has time and again said that it was he who stopped the India and Pakistan nuclear war. However, this has been refuted each time by India. PM Modi had remarked many times that no third party was ever involved during Operation Sindoor. Modi also said that it was on persistent requests by Pakistan that the Operation was temporarily halted and it would be back if Pakistan does not mend its ways.
Jaiswal also added that India takes into account the global environment and conditions before deciding on its energy source selections. He further added that India would keep buying energy at affordable prices for its population of 1.4 billion people.
Any decision by Washington to enforce secondary sanctions on India would alienate the friendship between the two nations. In 2025, the ties between the two nations soured due to immigration restrictions, trade disputes and geopolitical tensions.
