Daily Briefing: India calls Lutnick’s claims on trade deal with US ‘inaccurate’

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

🚨 Big Story

Amid protracted negotiations over the India-US trade deal, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Friday said that India missed multiple opportunities to sign the agreement and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “did not call US President Trump” after the deal had been set up in May-July last year. Lutnick’s remarks came hours before US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor arrived in India Friday night. Reacting to Lutnick’s claims, India rejected his version of events, saying “the characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.” India continues to face the highest US tariffs (up to 50 per cent) despite being engaged in negotiations with Washington since February last year. So far, officials in Delhi have maintained that the trade deal is “very much alive.”

The time window – May and July – as indicated by Lutnick when the India-US trade agreement could have been inked, coincided with Operation Sindoor and its fraught aftermath. At the time, US President Donald Trump had sought credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a claim that, along with an Islamabad-Washington warmth, cast a shadow on the bilateral ties. The deal couldn’t go through then as Lutnick wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call US President Donald Trump to close the deal – which he claims India was “uncomfortable” with.

⚡ Only in Express

A dossier in April 2025 informed India’s Culture Ministry of the auction of about 349 gems that were excavated in 1898 along with Buddha’s relics from Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh. The auction in Hong Kong, for an estimated $100 million, set a new challenge for India: the sale lay outside the country’s legal jurisdiction, time was critically short, and the issue carried deep emotional weight for India and millions of Buddhists. What followed over the next three months was an intense search for diplomatic and legal avenues, repatriation through a public-private-partnership, and the journey back home on a commercial flight. My colleague Divya A traces their nerve-wracking journey.

💡Express Explained

Following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, key officials of the United States President Donald Trump administration shared that Greenland should be part of the US territory. While Greenland has no plans to cede the territory to the US, analysts believe that a forcible US takeover would result in the breakdown of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While NATO is the most potent military alliance, behind its strength lies a story of wide disparity in economic and military might. And it is this disparity that Trump is exploiting at present. Is the US capable of bullying NATO? Udit Misra explains.

✍️ Express Opinion

In our Opinion section today, Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller shed light on their architectural projects in Delhi designed to link the past with the present. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Humanyun’s Tomb Site Museum, was designed to unify the natural and the built environment, and facilitate an understanding of India’s heritage. They write: “Architecture that evokes an emotive connection with people — especially so in works designed for the public — endures as a cherished memory of our bond with a place. India’s rich historic legacy is ripe for more such interventions — buildings and gardens where people may gather, reflect on our past, and create visions for our future.”

🎬 Movie Review

Wondering what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered! Freedom at Midnight is back with a new season, this time, recreating the early tumultuous years post-Independence in India, detailing crucial events and the people who made our freedom possible. Calling it one of her favourites, Shubhra Gupta, in her review of the series, writes: “The series does well to underline the rising problems between Nehru and Patel, the two men burying their differences only with Gandhi’s fast-unto-death. Would they have kissed and made up if their hands weren’t forced? It’s fascinating to speculate whether we would have had a different nation had events not rolled out the way they did…”

That’s it for today, have a lovely weekend!

Until next time,
Ariba

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