Trump’s remarks come as New Delhi and Washington continue negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, with changes in the US tariff landscape shaping discussions. 

India-US trade deal pretty close, will be different from previous pacts: Trump

Trump said India and the US are "pretty close" to finalising a trade deal and hinted at a "much different" agreement, as negotiations continue amid tariff changes and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits India for talks on strengthening bilateral ties.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Rubio's India visit focuses on trade, energy, technology and defence
  • Goyal met US Trade Representative Greer in Milwaukee and Washington
  • February's first-phase framework faced further negotiations after tariff landscape changes

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India and the United States are “pretty close” to finalising a trade deal after more than a year of negotiations, but signalled that the agreement would be different from the pacts Washington has struck previously.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump expressed confidence that the two countries were close to reaching an agreement. “They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah,” US President said when asked about the prospects for a trade pact.

“It's going to be a much different kind of deal than we've done,” he added, without elaborating on what the proposed agreement would entail.

Trump’s remarks come as New Delhi and Washington continue negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, with changes in the US tariff landscape shaping discussions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently visiting India, where he is holding talks on strengthening bilateral ties, with a focus on trade, energy, technology, defence and people-to-people relations.

Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Milwaukee and Washington to discuss the finer details of the proposed trade deal.

India and the US had announced in February that they had finalised the framework for the first phase of their bilateral trade agreement (BTA). However, subsequent changes in the US tariff landscape have led to further negotiations on the pact.

- Ends