Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said India and the United States were close to finalising their trade deal, with only a few technical details remaining to be resolved. He expressed confidence that the outstanding issues would be settled “in a matter of weeks, not months”.
Rubio said both sides needed to agree on the precise wording of the deal to ensure that the terms carried the same meaning for India and the US. He made these remarks in an exclusive Network 18 interview.
“I think we’re down to some technical details that have to be worked out. 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 said in the interview with Network 18.
Rubio arrived in India on Tuesday for a four-day visit. On the first day, he held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai and attended an event marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. He is also expected to meet business leaders in the city before travelling to Jamnagar in Gujarat, home to the world’s largest petroleum refinery.
The remarks come amid prolonged negotiations over a trade agreement between the two countries. Despite progress over the past year, the talks appear to have reached a plateau in recent months.
Earlier this month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that “both sides have reached a plateau beyond which giving or taking might be very very difficult”. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had also indicated that a trade deal was not “imminent”.
However, Rubio maintained that the two countries were “incredibly close” to announcing an agreement, stressing the importance of resolving every detail before making it public.
“With these deals, it’s always important that it be totally agreed to every detail of it, before it’s announced, because you can’t afford for a relationship of this magnitude to be threatened by announcing a deal and then it turning out the deal wasn’t finalised. But it’s incredibly close,” he said.
During his Mumbai engagements, Rubio is expected to interact with business leaders to encourage support for the agreement and address concerns among Indian industrialists. Ahead of his visit, the US Department of State had said he would meet business leaders “to promote opportunities for commercial investment and economic cooperation”.
Tariff rates and sustainable trade
Responding to a question about tariff rates, particularly India’s push for preferential terms, Rubio said the US administration was focused on establishing a sustainable trade relationship rather than concentrating solely on specific rates.
“Obviously the purpose of making a deal is to have better rates than what you have now. But the more important thing is about ensuring that our trade relationship is in a sustainable way,” he said.
Rubio added that US foreign and trade policies recognised that every country had its own national interests to protect.
“We fully expect, not just India but every country we interact with, is going to defend and fight for what’s good for them,” he said.
His remarks signal continued efforts to bridge the remaining differences between New Delhi and Washington as both sides work towards an agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
When asked to comment on the rising anti-Indian hate in the United States right now, Rubio said: “There are individuals within our country, sadly, who are stupid, who are dumb or hateful. I don’t believe anti-India hate in the US is widespread.”