Mumbai: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington and New Delhi are close to finalising a long-stalled trade deal, after talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai.
"We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement," Mr. Rubio told reporters, adding that "a small number of items" were left to wrap up.
The two sides have been negotiating against a difficult backdrop. Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on most Indian goods in August 2025 after talks broke down. A framework agreed in February brought the rate down to 18 per cent, but the talks have since stalled. India has said its final tariff rate should be comparable to those of competing manufacturing economies.
Mr. Jaishankar said the talks covered trade, energy, technology and defence, besides regional developments. He and Mr. Rubio also held a trilateral meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on regional energy security.
Rubio's visit, his second to India in under five months, comes as New Delhi balances its purchases of discounted Russian crude against pressure from Washington. India has said it will expand energy imports while diversifying suppliers.
Mr. Rubio is scheduled to visit the Jamnagar refinery complex of Reliance Industries in Gujarat on Wednesday and meet business leaders, according to the US State Department.
Before leaving Washington, Mr. Rubio said India had voluntarily diversified its energy sources but still drew a substantial amount of energy from Russia, since a pivot could not happen overnight. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said earlier this month the talks had "plateaued", while Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that the first tranche of a deal was in its final stages.
The Jamnagar complex, operated by Reliance Industries, is described as the world's largest refining site.