Negotiations toward a trade deal between India and the United States have moved into their final stretch, with a government official from Washington indicating that roughly one to two per cent of the talks remain unresolved after months of exchanges at the highest levels.
An unnamed official indicated that the most contentious points in the talks had been addressed and that discussions were pressing forward at the top levels of government, with direct engagement between Trump and Modi among the channels in use, adding that the core sticking points were now behind them. The matter appeared, at that point, to be largely wrapped up.
"That final slice — somewhere between one and two per cent — is still in play," the official said at a State Department briefing held Friday.
Talks on the proposed agreement were described as an ongoing process, with an official noting that the two governments held exchanges at a senior level on a weekly basis and that those discussions had been continuing on a regular schedule. Citing a string of recent contacts — including Greer's trade talks with Goyal and separate exchanges between Trump and Modi — the official maintained that the two sides had built up tangible momentum in their negotiations.
The point that had been holding up the agreement was also brought to the table by the official. The arrangement had initially rested on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — known as IEEPA — though that statutory foundation needed to be revisited once a court invalidated the law, a government official noted. That turn of events sent negotiators back to the table, where reopened discussions stretched across several additional months before the parties could move forward.
Notwithstanding those hurdles, the official conveyed a belief that the outstanding points of disagreement were on track to be settled in the near term.
Rubio's trip to India — with stops in Mumbai and Jamnagar for talks with government officials and senior business figures — was already on the calendar when those comments were made. His itinerary calls for an initial stop in Uzbekistan, where meetings with Central Asian leaders are on the agenda, before the trip continues on to India.
His visits to Mumbai bring him into direct contact with government officials and the heads of some of the country's largest corporations. Choosing Mumbai over New Delhi as the itinerary's centrepiece, the official explained, aligned with the administration's broader push to deepen trade ties and attract Indian capital into the American economy. A stop in Jamnagar has also been added to Rubio's itinerary.
Closer ties between the two countries — spanning technology, pharmaceuticals, defence, and related industries — were among the priorities the official outlined. Trips by top-level cabinet representatives from the United States are expected to follow in the coming year, with both administrations working to deepen ties between the two countries.
