US President Donald Trump has said India and the United States are close to finalising a trade deal after more than a year of negotiations.
Moneycontrol News
October 21, 2026 / 01:49 IST
US President Donald Trump
- US and India are close to finalizing a trade deal.
- Marco Rubio expects an agreement within weeks.
- Negotiations are now focused on technical details.
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US President Donald Trump has said India and the United States are close to finalising a trade deal after more than a year of negotiations, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that an agreement could be reached within weeks, with talks now focused on technical details.
“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday when asked about the prospects for an agreement, as quoted by Bloomberg.
The US president added that the deal “could be a much different kind of deal”, without elaborating.
The latest remarks come amid growing optimism from officials in both countries about the prospects of resolving the long-running trade stalemate between Washington and New Delhi.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor recently said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi that “the big items are done” and that the two countries were very close to “landing it”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also expressed encouragement over the progress of the negotiations, saying both sides were “heading toward a landing point”.
Rubio expects India-US trade deal within weeks
In an exclusive interview with Network18 Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi,Rubio said the India-US trade agreement could be finalised within weeks, with negotiations now focused on resolving technical details.
Rubio, who is on a two-day visit to India, expressed confidence that the two countries were nearing an agreement, adding that both sides needed to ensure the language of every provision was understood and agreed upon before the deal could be announced.
“It’s incredibly close. I think we’re down to some technical details that have to be worked out,” he said.
“Technical details matter because there has to be agreement. Both sides have to agree that the language means the same thing. So it’s down to that level,” Rubio added.
The US Secretary of State said he was not directly negotiating the agreement, as the process was being handled by the US Trade Representative, but had remained closely involved in monitoring its progress.
He said Washington expected the agreement to be concluded “in a matter of weeks, not months”.
Rubio says trade deal should offer better tariff rates
Asked whether India could expect more favourable tariff rates than other countries, Rubio said the objective of a trade agreement was to secure better terms than those currently in place.
“Obviously, the purpose of making a deal is to have better rates than what you have now,” he said.
Rubio also stressed that the agreement needed to serve the economic interests of both countries to remain sustainable over the long term.
He acknowledged that India, like other countries, would pursue its national interests during negotiations, but said the relationship between the two countries could help bridge differences.
“When you are friends, when you are allies, and when you have so much in common, that’s what allows you to bridge those differences and come up with something that’s mutually beneficial,” he said.
With Trump describing the deal as “pretty close” and Rubio expecting an agreement within weeks, the latest comments from Washington point to continued progress in efforts to conclude the India-US trade pact.
*With Agency Inputs
Moneycontrol News
first published: Oct 21, 2026 01:47 am
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