- By Nidhi Giri
- Fri, 01 Aug 2025 05:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Centre on Friday clarified to the Lok Sabha that no formal discussions have been held with the United States on the issue of purchase of F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets. The Centre’s clarification comes after Bloomberg reported that India has maintained silence on purchasing F-35 fighter jets from America. The Bloomberg report suggested that India has shown no interest in buying the fighter jets amid President Donald Trump's hardening stand on tariffs against India.
Trump on Wednesday announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment
"No formal discussions have been held as yet on this issue,” Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response to a question raised by Congress MP Balwant Baswant Wankhade.
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Balwant Baswant Wankhade had inquired whether the United States formally offered to sell F-35 fighter jets to India, following President Donald Trump’s announcement during a high-level bilateral meeting earlier this year.
Bloomberg also claimed that when PM Modi visited the US in February, at that time, Trump had proposed an F-35 fighter jets deal. It was said that Trump was pressuring India to buy F-35 fighter jets. However, India has put this deal on hold due to alleged flaws in the F-35 fighter jet. It is worth noting that India has better options than F-35 fighter jets in the defence sector.
According to the Bloomberg report, quoting an official, despite increasing the purchase of American goods, the Modi government is unlikely to buy additional defence equipment from America. Trump has demanded this many times before. The report said that India has informed America that it is not interested in buying F-35 fighter jets.
Govt's Response To Trump's 'Dead Economy' Remark
Trump called India a "dead economy" sparking a political firestorm in India, hours after he announced a 25 per cent tariffs on import of Indian goods. As India analysed the possible impact of the 25 per cent tariffs announced in Washington, Trump targeted both India and Russia, saying they can take their "dead economies down together", in a fresh attack for their close trade ties.
In the backdrop of Trump's "dead economy" barb at India, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Thursday that India is the world's fastest-growing major economy and widely expected to be the "third largest economy" in a few years. Goyal also said India will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest and that the implications of the US tariffs are being examined.