What Trump and Rubio said about the India US trade deal
The India US trade deal moved closer to reality on Tuesday, as United States President Donald Trump said Washington and New Delhi were nearly ready to sign an agreement. The remarks were the strongest signal yet that the India US trade deal is moving toward a landing point after more than a year of talks.
“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “It’s going to be a much different kind of deal than we’ve done,” he added, without explaining what would make the agreement different from earlier pacts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered the same assessment from Mumbai, where he held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the second day of a three-day visit to India. “I would say we’re about as close as you can be without having an executed agreement,” Rubio told reporters.
Rubio said only a small number of items were left to wrap up and that those would be dealt with shortly. He said he hoped for “good news to announce soon” and added that the leaders of the two countries could sign the agreement after that.
Energy and defence purchases on the agenda
Rubio used the visit to press India on buying more American energy and defence equipment. The US State Department said he told Jaishankar that greater energy trade with the United States could play a transformative role in diversifying India’s supply chains.
The State Department also said Rubio praised progress in defence and civil nuclear cooperation and called for increased purchases of US technologies and systems. Jaishankar said the discussions covered trade, energy, technology, defence and people-to-people ties. Energy has become one of the main bargaining chips as negotiators work to close the India US trade deal.
Rubio described India as a “refining superpower” and pitched Venezuelan crude as an option for Indian buyers, India Weekly reported. India counts among the world’s largest importers of crude oil, and energy has become a central thread in the trade talks.
The Ministry of External Affairs said both sides welcomed progress in the negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to an early conclusion of the pact. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who attended the Mumbai meeting, described the talks as productive.
What remains of the India US trade deal
Both governments have said the remaining work is limited. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that the India US trade deal was almost final and that only legal vetting remained, according to The Times of India.
Gor had already signalled confidence earlier this month. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, he said “the big items are done” and that the two sides were very close to landing the agreement.
The comments from Trump and Rubio fit a pattern of growing optimism on both sides. The India US trade deal has been under discussion since last year, and officials in Washington and New Delhi have repeatedly said in recent weeks that an outcome is near.
Background of the India US trade deal
India and the United States finalised the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in February. Changes in US tariff policy after that forced both sides back into negotiations.
Earlier this month, Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Milwaukee and Washington to work through the finer points of the agreement. The meetings followed months of technical discussions between trade officials.
For Indian exporters, the outcome matters because their goods still face extra US duties. The shape of the final India US trade deal will decide how much of that duty burden comes off, which is why industry groups in India have watched each round of talks closely.
Rubio’s visit to India ran from October 20 to 21 at Jaishankar’s invitation, his second trip this year after a visit to New Delhi in May. According to the State Department, he travels next to Jamnagar in Gujarat for discussions that will include enhanced energy cooperation.