US President Donald Trump has said Washington and New Delhi are close to finalising a trade agreement, suggesting that the proposed pact could take a different form without providing further details. His remarks came on Tuesday as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a three-day official visit to India, with both sides signalling progress in negotiations.
“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah,” Bloomberg quoted Trump as telling reporters at the White House.
Asked about the agreement, Trump added that it “could be a much different kind of deal”, but did not elaborate on what that might entail.
The comments follow a series of optimistic statements from officials in both countries about the prospects of an agreement. India and the US announced a framework for an interim trade agreement in February this year, setting the stage for further negotiations on bilateral trade and market access.
Rubio says only a few issues remain
Rubio also expressed confidence that the two countries were close to reaching an agreement, saying that only a limited number of issues remained unresolved.
“The State Department doesn't negotiate trade agreements, but we are very much involved in what's happening... We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement,” Rubio said on Tuesday during his second official visit to India.
He said there were a “small number of items left to wrap up” and expected these to be addressed “shortly”. Rubio added that he hoped the two countries would have “good news to announce soon”, expressing optimism that they would soon have “something in place”.
During his visit, Rubio met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday. He also urged India to expand energy trade with the US and increase its purchases of American technologies and systems.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor had similarly indicated progress last week at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi. He said the “big items are done” and that the two countries were close to “landing it”.
Trade negotiations figure in US decisions on Russian energy sanctions
The trade agreement has also featured in discussions around Washington’s approach to sanctions and national security waivers concerning Russian energy. Before arriving in India, Rubio said in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, that the US was close to concluding a trade deal with New Delhi and that the negotiations were among the factors considered when making decisions on national security exemptions.
“We're trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now. We're very close to doing that. So that's one of the things we take into consideration when the President makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature,” Rubio told reporters.
His remarks came days after Trump waived certain sanctions related to Russian energy on national security grounds under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. The legislation, which has been put on hold, would have authorised tariffs of up to 100% on top purchasers of Russian crude oil or gas, including India.
However, the secondary sanctions have only been deferred, leaving Trump with the option of invoking the law against the countries concerned at a later stage.
India’s continued purchases of Russian oil and Washington’s efforts to reshape energy trade have been sources of friction in bilateral relations. Rubio’s comments indicate that the broader trade negotiations are also being considered alongside other American foreign policy and national security priorities.
Piyush Goyal says first tranche is ready for legal drafting
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that the first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement had been finalised and was undergoing legal drafting.
“The US bilateral trade agreement's first tranche has been finalised. It's going through the final contours, the legal drafting, and we hope to be able to finalize that soon and operationalise it once we get a comparable or competitive advantage over our peer countries,” Goyal said.
His statement added to the indications from both governments that negotiations had advanced considerably, although the agreement had yet to be formally concluded.
Trump’s latest comments, Rubio’s assessment that only a few issues remain and Goyal’s update on legal drafting suggest that the two sides are seeking to bring the negotiations to a close. However, neither Trump nor Rubio provided a definitive timeline for signing the agreement or detailed what the US President meant by a “much different kind of deal”. The remaining issues and the final terms will determine when the agreement can be concluded and implemented.