India-US trade deal on the ‘verge’ of happening: Marco Rubio

Both sides discuss early conclusion of the interim trade agreement: Jaishankar

PT News New Delhi, May 24

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said the pending India-US trade deal is on the “verge” of happening. Rubio was addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi after the two held a bilateral meeting covering multiple issues of technology and energy, among others.

“We are on the verge of making that happen,” Rubio said when asked about the pending trade deal between the two countries. In the absence of a structured deal, India is paying higher tariffs for goods entering the US and some of it is linked to buying Russian crude. Rubio said the US is hopeful that the US Trade Representative can visit India very soon.

“We have made tremendous progress, and I think we’re going to wind up with a trade agreement between the US and India,” he said, adding that it would be enduring and beneficial to both sides. Jaishankar said the two sides today spoke about the value of concluding at an early date the final text of the interim agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.

“This will be an important step towards a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement which was envisaged during Prime Minister Modi’s visit in February 2025,” he said. Rubio, responding to another question, said there is $20 billion of Indian investment in the US economy, and that this number continues to grow. On trade, Rubio clarified that it is not about India specifically, but about the US.

“President (Donald Trump) did not say let’s figure out a way to create friction with India over trade.” He said the President had stated that “we have a trade situation involving the US economy that doesn’t work moving forward. There’s a huge imbalance that’s built up, and it needs to be addressed,” and that he pursued it from a global perspective.

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