NEW DELHI  - India's trade pact with the United States was delayed because Prime Minister Narendra ‍Modi did not ‍make a telephone call to President Donald Trump to ​close a deal they were negotiating, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Friday.

The trade ⁠talks fell apart last year and Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods in August ⁠to 50%, ‌the world's highest rate, including a levy of 25% in retaliation for India's purchases of Russian oil.

"It's all set up ⁠and you have got to have Modi call the President. And they were uncomfortable doing it," Lutnick said in an interview on the All-In podcast, a U.S. show by four venture capitalists that focuses ⁠on business and technology.

"So Modi ​didn't call."

The comments came after Trump stepped up the pressure for talks with a warning ‍this week that tariffs could rise further unless India curbs its Russian oil imports.

That step ​pushed the Indian rupee to a record low and spooked investors waiting for progress in two-way negotiations for a trade deal that remains elusive.

India still seeks a tariff rate between Washington's offers to Britain and Vietnam that had formerly been agreed but the offer has expired, Lutnick added.

India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment on Lutnick's remarks.

New Delhi and Washington were very close to a trade deal last ⁠year but a communication breakdown led to ‌the collapse of any potential pact, Reuters reported.

It cited an Indian government official involved in the talks as saying that Modi could not ‌have called ⁠Trump, for fear that a one-sided conversation would put him on the spot.

(Reporting by ⁠Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)