US President Donald Trump has said that India and the United States are “pretty close” to finalising a trade agreement, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a three-day visit to India.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said that both sides want a deal and that one will be struck. He added that it “could be a much different kind of deal” but gave no further details.
His comments come on the heels of upbeat statements from leaders on both sides. The two countries had unveiled a framework for an interim trade pact in February this year.
Rubio, on his second official trip to India, also said on Tuesday that the two nations are “very, very close” to concluding an agreement. While noting that the State Department does not negotiate trade deals, he said it is closely involved, and that the sides are about as close as possible short of signing.
He said only a handful of issues remain, which would be resolved “shortly,” and expressed hope for “good news to announce soon” and confidence that the two sides will have “something in place.”
Rubio held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he urged India to expand energy trade and buy more American technology and systems.
Last week, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor told the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi that “the big items are done” and that the countries are close to “landing it.”
Rubio links trade deal to Russian energy waiver decisions
Before arriving in India, Rubio had said in Uzbekistan that Washington was “very close” to a trade deal with India, noting that this was among the factors weighed when deciding on national security waivers.
Speaking to reporters in Samarkand, he said the US is working to finalise the deal and that it is one of the considerations when the President decides on national security waivers and similar matters.
His remarks came days after Trump waived certain Russian energy-related sanctions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, citing national security. The law, now on hold, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the top five buyers of Russian crude oil or gas, India among them. The secondary sanctions have merely been postponed, so Trump remains free to invoke them against these countries at any time.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that the first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement is complete and is now in legal drafting.
He said the first tranche has been finalised, is going through its final details and legal drafting, and that India hopes to wrap it up soon and bring it into effect once it secures a competitive advantage over peer countries.
