US 'very close' to India trade deal ahead of Rubio visit

Trade deal imminent

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington is "very close" to finalizing a bilateral trade agreement with New Delhi, announcing the progress ahead of a three-day visit to India scheduled to begin this week. Rubio made the remarks in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he met with Central Asian counterparts before departing for Mumbai on Tuesday. "We're trying to finalize a trade deal with India right now. We're very close to doing that," he said, adding that the agreement remains a priority for the Trump administration. The top US diplomat is expected to tour India's financial hub before traveling to Jamnagar — a city in western Gujarat state home to the world's largest single-site oil refinery.

Energy sanctions waiver

The secretary addressed questions regarding Washington's decision to waive sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports, citing concerns over global energy stability and price fluctuations. "Geography is real. For some countries, it's very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources. That's not an excuse, but all of that has to be balanced when making foreign policy," Rubio noted, emphasizing that national security waivers factor into broader diplomatic calculations. He maintained that every nation faces a "complex set of factors" shaped by geographic constraints when formulating foreign policy.

Bilateral framework

The United States and India announced an interim framework agreement in February aimed at resolving ongoing trade disputes, though tensions escalated last year when the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued Russian oil purchases. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated last week that the first tranche of the deal has completed negotiations and is currently undergoing legal drafting. "We hope to be able to finalize that soon and operationalize that once we get the comparable advantage or competitive advantage over our peer countries," Goyal told an event in New Delhi, noting that bilateral commerce totaled approximately $149.4 billion last year.