India has firmly pushed back against claims that the US helped broker a ceasefire with Pakistan by dangling trade deals during recent military tensions.
The response came after former US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a court in New York that a “tenuous ceasefire” between the two South Asian rivals was only reached after former President Donald Trump offered both countries access to US trade.
According to Lutnick, who was defending Trump’s authority to use emergency powers on tariffs, India and Pakistan agreed to pause military action after Trump allegedly stepped in with a trade-based peace offering. He argued in court that curbing a president’s power to impose tariffs could risk undoing such international diplomatic arrangements.
But New Delhi isn’t buying that version.
In a regular press briefing held on May 30, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said outright that the issue of trade “did not come up in any of the discussions” between Indian and American leaders during the tense military situation earlier in May.
Jaiswal confirmed that conversations did take place between Indian and US leaders from May 7 to May 10, while Operation Sindoor — India’s military response to cross-border attacks — was underway. However, he underlined that the ceasefire was reached following “direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs)” of India and Pakistan.
This matches India’s longstanding position — that it deals with its neighbour directly, especially when it comes to military de-escalation.
Lutnick made his controversial submission to the US Court of International Trade while arguing against limiting the president’s ability to impose tariffs under emergency powers. His line of defence linked tariff powers to diplomatic leverage, using the India-Pakistan example as a case in point.
He warned that any ruling against Trump could cast doubt over such previous diplomatic efforts. “An adverse ruling... could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region,” Lutnick said.
That’s the big question hanging in the air. On the one hand, India is sticking to its guns — saying that the decision to stop firing was mutual, direct, and not influenced by any external power waving a trade deal. On the other hand, Trump’s former team seems keen to showcase trade as a tool that helped keep nuclear-armed nations from going over the edge.
