‘False and fabricated’: MoD official slams reports of India pausing defence purchase from US

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Defence on Friday strongly dismissed reports suggesting that India has paused talks related to defence purchases from the US, calling such claims “false and fabricated.”

According to a statement, a senior official at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has firmly refuted the reports and reaffirmed that all procurement processes are continuing as per standard procedures. “The news reports on India pausing the talks related to defence purchases with the US are false and fabricated. It is clarified that the various cases of procurement are being progressed as per the extant procedures,” the official said.

The clarification comes after a recent report suggesting that India has paused the procurement of US-made defence systems, noting that it was India’s first concrete step against US President Donald Trump’s announcement of increasing tariffs on Indian goods by 50 per cent.

The White House on Wednesday issued an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 percentage points in tariffs on Indian goods, raising the total levy to 50 per cent. The US cited national security and foreign policy concerns, pointing specifically to India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil.

While the additional tariff is set to take place 21 days from the announcement of the executive order, India is already facing a 25 per cent tariff issued by the US before the end of the deadline day of August 1.

Meanwhile, on Thursday (US local time), Trump said there will be no trade negotiations with India until a dispute over tariffs is resolved, following his administration’s decision to double tariffs on Indian imports.

The US statement department on Thursday stated that “India is a strategic partner” and that the US is engaging with India in “full and frank dialogue” even as relations between the two countries continue to witness tension amid the tariff dispute.

On being asked whether China and other BRICS nations are trying to take the lead in organising a pushback against US trade measures, the US State Department said the dialogue with India “will continue”. (ANI)