India-US pact enters final stage, Washington confirms

AGREEMENT WITHIN REACH | Jaishankar, Rubio accelerate trade negotiations

PTI New Delhi

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila on Wednesday to discuss priority areas including trade, tariffs, energy, defence, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.

The US State Department stated that the two top diplomats agreed on the importance of finalising the interim India-US trade deal, which is almost complete, and discussed finalising key defence agreements.

"Our relationship with India is vitally important," Rubio said after the meeting.

Jaishankar and Rubio also exchanged views on the West Asia crisis and the situation in the Indo-Pacific. Both were in the Philippine capital to participate in high-level discussions under the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Quad grouping. 

"Our meeting focused on areas which are priority for the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including trade and tariffs, energy, defence and security, critical minerals and artificial intelligence," Jaishankar stated on social media.

"We also exchanged quick perspectives on regional, global and multilateral issues of mutual interest," he added.

Rubio mentioned on X that they discussed regional security issues, the Quad, trade, and defence agreements. The US State Department noted that the discussions included recent developments in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, finalising key defence agreements in fulfillment of commitments made between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, and completing the interim trade deal. The meeting occurred over a month after Modi and Trump held talks on the margins of the G7 summit, signalling efforts to rebuild bilateral ties following a downturn caused by US punitive tariffs, immigration policy changes, increased H1B visa fees, and differing stances on a 2025 military clash. In June, relations faced fresh strain after three Indian sailors died following US military attacks on merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.

Deal could be signed in 3-4 months: US Official A long-awaited U.S.-India trade agreement could ​be signed within the next three to four months, a ‌senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, indicating negotiations between the two sides have been virtually completed, Reuters reported.

"The deal... is there. We literally have the paper," the U.S. official said on condition ​of anonymity on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting ​in Manila. What remains outstanding, the official said, is Washington's completion ⁠of its Section 301 trade investigations. The statute covers unfair trade practices and ​allows the U.S. to impose tariffs or take other retaliatory measures.