Washington DC, Jan. 9 -- US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has claimed that the trade deal between India and the United States did not happen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not place a call to US President Donald Trump.

In a conversation with American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, as part of the 'All-In Podcast' on Thursday (local time), Lutnick said that while contracts were negotiated and the entire deal structure was prepared, the final step required direct, leader-level engagement.

"I would negotiate the contracts and set the whole deal up, but let's be clear. It's his (Trump's) deal. He's the closer. He does it. It's all set up, you got to have Modi, call the President. They were uncomfortable doing it. So Modi d...