ibn sultan
New Delhi, May 29: India has strongly denied a claim made by the United States government in a federal court that a trade offer from President Donald Trump helped stop a war between India and Pakistan earlier this month. In a court filing submitted on May 23 in the US Court of International Trade, US officials claimed that the May 10 ceasefire between the two countries was possible “only after” President Trump offered trade access to both India and Pakistan, reports international and regional media. The filing was made as part of a legal case against the Trump administration’s tariff policies as reported by the media.India has dismissed this version of events. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected the claim at a media briefing on Thursday in New Delhi saying there was no mention of trade in any discussions between Indian and US officials during the period of heightened tensions.“I would refer you to our position that was made clear on 13 May. From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on 7 May till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on 10 May, 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 External Affairs Minister has also made it clear that cessation of firing was decided through direct contacts between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan,” Jaiswal said.The US government, however, claimed in court that Trump’s use of trade incentives played a key role in easing tensions. US Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick, in a sworn declaration, defended the use of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law that allows the president to impose economic restrictions during national emergencies, The Financial Express reported. Lutnick argued that such tools can influence the actions of foreign governments and cited the India-Pakistan situation as an example. Lutnick stated that a ruling against the government in the tariffs case “would have ripple effects across every domain in which economic instruments are used for strategic effect,” adding that the Trump administration’s offer of trade access helped halt a “potentially devastating war” between India and Pakistan.The legal filing is part of a broader case in which small businesses are challenging Trump’s tariff decisions, arguing that he exceeded his legal authority.
