Congress MP Jairam Ramesh launched a sharp critique at the BJP-led central government on Friday, using comments from a senior US official to allege that India missed a crucial trade agreement with the United States due to a failure in direct leadership engagement.
Ramesh's Social Media Jab and Lutnick's Podcast Revelation
Ramesh took to social media platform X, posting a clip from the 'All-in podcast' featuring US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He accompanied it with a Hindi couplet, "Hug hag na raha, post post na raha, kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere dosti mein," to mock what he described as a deteriorating relationship between India and the US.
His post referenced Lutnick's detailed explanation on the podcast about why the much-anticipated bilateral trade deal fell through. The US official stated that negotiations had reached a very advanced stage, with contracts discussed and the overall structure of the agreement prepared. However, Lutnick claimed the final step required a direct phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then US President Donald Trump, which never happened.
The "Closer" Call That Never Came
"I would negotiate the contracts and set the whole deal up, but let’s be clear. It’s his deal. He’s the closer. You’ve got to have Modi call the President. They were uncomfortable doing it. So Modi didn’t call," Lutnick said in the podcast clip. He elaborated that after a period of waiting, the US administration moved on and finalized trade pacts with other nations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Lutnick also described President Trump's unique approach to trade negotiations, calling it a "staircase" system. Under this model, countries that engaged early and moved quickly received more favorable terms, while those that delayed faced less advantageous conditions or higher tariffs.
Missed Deadlines and Lost Opportunity
According to the US commerce secretary, India was publicly named multiple times as the next country in line for a trade deal. The Indian side was given a clear deadline of "three Fridays" to finalize the agreement. When no progress was made by that time, the United States announced new trade agreements with other Asian nations, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
This revelation by a sitting US official has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition Congress party, which has consistently criticized the Modi government's foreign and trade policies. The incident highlights the complex dynamics of high-stakes international diplomacy, where personal engagement between leaders can sometimes make or break critical deals.
