Rubio Signals US-India Trade Deal Nearly Sealed After Mumbai Talks With Jaishankar
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington and New Delhi are “about as close as you can be” to finalizing a long-stalled trade agreement, following talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai.
Rubio’s visit to India, running from October 20 to 22, covers a broad agenda including energy, trade, investment, defense and emerging technologies, as the two countries work to revive negotiations that had been stuck for months over tariff disputes and India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
The talks come just days after President Trump delayed tariffs on Indian imports and, on October 16, waived newly authorized penalties targeting countries buying Russian oil and gas, a move widely seen as clearing a key obstacle ahead of Rubio’s trip.
The Russian oil issue has been a persistent friction point in the relationship, with Washington previously pressing India to curb its purchases even as New Delhi defended the imports as essential to its energy security and insulated from the broader geopolitical dispute.
Rubio's stop in Mumbai underscores the priority Washington is placing on finalizing the deal, with officials from both sides signaling that remaining gaps are narrow enough that an agreement could be concluded in the near term rather than requiring further extended rounds of negotiation.
A completed deal would mark a significant de-escalation in trade tensions between the two countries and reinforce the broader US push to deepen economic and defense ties with India as part of its wider strategic posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
