New Delhi, October 19 (IANS). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that America is very close to finalizing a trade agreement with India. A day before his visit to India, he said that most of the work on the proposed agreement between the two countries has been completed.
Ahead of his visit to India, Rubio said, “We are trying to finalize a trade deal with India right now. We are very close to doing that.”
On the issue of Russian oil and gas, Rubio said that America has had to relax many sanctions in the last few months in view of the impact on global supply and prices.
He said, “In the last few months, we have had to give relaxations in sanctions because they were impacting global supply and prices. We have to balance all these factors. We are currently in the process of finalizing a trade agreement with India and are very close to it. These are the factors that the President considers while taking national security related relaxations or similar decisions. Every country faces different and complex circumstances. Geographical realities are also important. Access to alternative energy sources for some countries. It is very difficult to make. This is not an excuse, but a balance has to be made between all these things while making foreign policy.”
India and America are close to finalizing the first phase trade agreement. However, the issue of access to the dairy sector still remains the biggest hurdle.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump 'Lindsay O. Graham has signed an order to implement the 'Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act' and exempted the tariffs imposed on countries purchasing Russian oil.
The basic objective of this trade agreement is to ensure low and stable tariffs in the US on products exported from India. In return, American products will be provided wider market access in India.
Under the framework announced in February, the US had reduced the reciprocal duty imposed on Indian goods from 25 percent to 18 percent. Additionally, the additional 25 percent duty on India's purchase of Russian oil was also removed.
In return, India had committed to reduce or eliminate tariffs on US industrial products and many agricultural products such as tree nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has already said that the first phase of the agreement has been finalized and its legal draft is being prepared. However, its implementation will depend on clarity regarding India's competitive edge.
Whereas Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had recently said that the negotiations on the trade agreement have now reached the “landing point” i.e. the final stage.
However, US Trade Representative Jameson Greer said on October 2 that the agreement was not going to happen immediately.
Meanwhile, India's trade performance remains strong. The country's merchandise exports increased by 23 percent to $44.4 billion in September 2026, while the trade deficit also declined.
–IANS
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