U.S. Commerce Secretary Mr. Lutnick revealed on a podcast Thursday (January 8, 2026) that a potential trade deal between India and the United States did not materialize because Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not contact former President Donald Trump.
Lutnick said he had requested Modi to make the call to finalize the agreement, but India was reportedly “uncomfortable,” and the call never happened.
He noted that while the U.S. successfully concluded trade deals with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, he had assumed the agreement with India would be finalized first. “We did Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and announced a whole bunch of deals. We negotiated these at a higher rate, assuming India would be done before them. But now the deals came out at a higher rate, and India called back saying, ‘Oh, okay, we are ready.’ I said, ready for what?” Lutnick recounted.
