India Rejects Claim That Trump's Trade Threat Averted War With Pakistan 

New Delhi: Following revelation that Trump administration had told a US court in a signed declaration that the India-Pakistan full-scale war was averted due to threat of trade tariffs, New Delhi reiterated that the matter was never mentioned in discussions between Indian and US leaders during the four days of hostilities.

On May 23, US Secretary for Commerce Howard W. Lutnick submitted a signed affidavit, along with three other Trump administration officials, to oppose a lawsuit by a consortium of small companies challenging US President Donald Trump’s global and country-specific import tariffs. The US Court of International Trade, however, ruled in favour of the petitioners on Wednesday night, finding that Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs was unconstitutional.

In his written testimony, Lutnick cited the recent flare-up between India and Pakistan, claiming that Trump’s offer of trade access played a key role in defusing the conflict. While Trump has previously made similar claims in public speeches and on social media, this marked the first time such a statement had appeared in a formal legal document.

At the weekly briefing on Thursday (May 29), MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred back to his statement of May 13 denying that trade came up in talks with the US during the phone calls.

“From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of those discussions,” the MEA spokesperson said.

He further underlined that the decision to halt hostilities was made bilaterally through established military channels. “External affairs minister has also made clear that the cessation of firing was decided upon through direct contacts between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan. So that should answer your question,” he added.

When pointed out Lutnick’s claim was in a sworn statement, Jaiswal stated, “I have stated my position, and when I state my position, I do it as spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of the government of India with flags on both sides. That has an implication. It means a lot”.

He also addressed concerns over recent developments affecting Indian students and exchange visitor visa applicants. “While we note that the issuance of visas is a sovereign function, we hope that the applications of Indian students will be considered on merit and that they will be able to join their academic programs on time,” Jaiswal said.

The United States had earlier announced a pause on scheduling new visa appointments for students, as it implements a system to screen applicants’ social media activity. Jaiswal noted that 330,000 Indian students had travelled to the US in the 2023–24 academic year.

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