Trump’s comments come as the US and India are in the midst of negotiating a trade deal that New Delhi hopes will spare it from Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs
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Bloomberg
Indian officials denied that trade with the US was used as a bargaining chip in a just-concluded ceasefire between India and Pakistan, contradicting statements by President Donald Trump that the US offered to trade more with both countries if they stopped hostilities.
“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it,” Trump said at the White House on Monday, referring to discussions with the two sides. “If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.”
Indian officials, who asked not to be identified, told reporters that trade was never discussed with US officials in a series of conversations in the lead up to the ceasefire with Pakistan.
There was no reference to trade in Vice President JD Vance’s call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the discussions were private. It also wasn’t brought up in discussions between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the officials said.
The discussions concluded with a ceasefire first revealed by Trump on Saturday in a social-media post. India and Pakistan had been on the brink of a full-blown war with drone and missile strikes on military sites and other locations prior to the ceasefire.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking further information.
Trump’s announcement left many senior officials in New Delhi seething, as it was seen as upstaging Modi and undermining its longstanding policy of handling India’s dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir bilaterally. Pakistani officials celebrated the announcement.
In a speech to the nation on Monday evening, Modi did not mention the US or credit Trump for the ceasefire. Instead, he said, Pakistan was the one to call for a de-escalation after Indian forces struck at its “heart.”
“Therefore, when Pakistan appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further, India considered it,” Modi said.
Pakistan’s army has said that India first asked for de-escalation.
Trump’s comments come as the US and India are in the midst of negotiating a trade deal that New Delhi hopes will spare it from Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs. In a visit to the White House in February, both Modi and Trump said they had agreed to boost trade ties.
India took steps this week to counter higher US tariffs on steel and aluminum, proposing retaliatory levies on some American goods in a move that may complicate negotiations over the bilateral deal.
In his White House remarks on Monday, Trump said the negotiations with India were continuing, and said the US would negotiate a separate trade pact with Pakistan.
“We’re going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan,” he said. “We’re going to do a lot of trade with India. We’re negotiating with India right now. We’re going to be soon, negotiating with Pakistan. And we stopped a nuclear conflict.”
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Published on May 13, 2025