India Claims Trade Not Key For the Ceasefire, Disputing Trump

Trade did not come up in recent discussions between top US and Indian leaders regarding the India-Pakistan crisis, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s claim that he used trade to prevent a conflict between two countries with “lots of nuclear weapons.”

Trump made the claim during a media address at the White House, where he reiterated his previous statement that his administration had helped “broker a full and immediate ceasefire” between India and Pakistan.

Trump was the first to announce on May 10 that India and Pakistan had agreed to halt hostilities after four days of intense strikes and counter-strikes using drones, missiles, and other long-range weapons. The Indian side has clarified that the understanding to stop all military actions was reached bilaterally by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).

After India’s military launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, there was no mention of trade during discussions between US Vice President JD Vance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9, or between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on May 8 and 10, as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on May 10, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In response to the claims from the US side, one person stated: “There was no reference to trade in any of these discussions.”

During his media remarks at the White House, Trump referred to the “historic events” of the last few days and claimed that trade was a big reason behind the decision by India and Pakistan to stop hostilities.

“On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one, between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons,” he said.

At a time when both countries were “going at it hot and heavy and it was seemingly not going to stop,” the US “helped a lot,” including with trade, to pull the two sides back from the brink, Trump said.

“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys, let’s stop it,” Trump said. “If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade. People have never really used trade the way I’ve used it but that I can tell you.”

He added, “Then, all of a sudden they said, I think we’re going to stop and they have. They did it for a lot of reasons but trade is a big one.”

Trump asserted that the US would engage in "a lot of trade" with both India and Pakistan.

“We’re negotiating with India right now, we’re going to be soon negotiating with Pakistan and we stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war , millions of people could have been killed,” he said.

Indian and US negotiators are finalizing the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement, which Trump and Modi agreed to complete by fall 2025 during their February meeting in Washington. The deal aims to tackle tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and market access. Additionally, Trump has suspended a 26% customized tariff on India until July.

Also Read: “Let’s Stop It, We’ll Do Trade”: Trump Claims Credit for India-Pakistan Ceasefire