US, India on verge of trade deal after 'tremendous progress': Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday that the United States and India are on the cusp of a trade agreement, highlighting "tremendous progress" in talks aimed at rebalancing trade relations. Speaking in New Delhi alongside External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rubio dismissed any notion of lost momentum in the bilateral relationship, framing the trade push as a global initiative by the Trump administration to correct imbalances.

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The US-India relationship has not lost any momentum.

"The President did not say 'Let's figure out a way to create friction with India over trade.' The President came in and said, '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'," Rubio explained. He noted that trade issues are a global concern, raised by many countries with whom the U.S. engages.

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The President did not say 'Let's figure out a way to create friction with India over trade.' The President came in and said, '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'.

Rubio underscored India's significance as a "massive economy" and a key trade partner for the U.S. The U.S. aims to forge trade arrangements worldwide that are mutually beneficial and sustainable. "We are hopeful that our trade representative can visit here very soon," Rubio stated, expressing optimism about concluding an "enduring" and beneficial trade agreement with India. This follows a framework for an Interim Agreement reached in February, which reaffirmed commitments to broader Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations.

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There is virtually no country in the world that I could travel to that isn't going to raise the issue of trade because we did this from a global perspective.