U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States and India were close to a trade agreement, bringing fresh attention to market-access talks as Washington keeps a Russia-related import duty on hold.
Rubio told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Oct. 19, “We’re very close to doing that.” He said trade negotiations were one factor in presidential national-security waiver decisions, alongside energy supplies, fuel prices and countries’ access to alternative fuels. He did not say the talks prompted the Oct. 16 waiver.
The White House’s Oct. 16 Russia-duty waiver suspended a potential 100% additional duty on U.S.-bound goods from countries among the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas. Absent the waiver, the duty would apply if those countries knowingly made new purchases of Russian crude oil or natural gas on or after Oct. 18. The waiver has no fixed end date, though officials can revisit it. The order does not mention India or the trade negotiations.
India purchased €4.1 billion of Russian crude in August, or 87% of its €4.8 billion in Russian fossil-fuel purchases that month, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said.
In February, the two governments announced a framework for an interim agreement that proposed cutting Indian tariffs on U.S. industrial products and selected agricultural goods. It also called for further negotiations over U.S. tariffs on Indian goods. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimated two-way goods trade at $149.4 billion in 2025.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Oct. 15 that negotiators had settled the agreement’s initial portion and lawyers were drafting its text. He said India sought a competitive advantage over peer countries. Neither Goyal nor Rubio gave a date for a final agreement.
The State Department’s Oct. 17-22 itinerary lists stops in Mumbai and Jamnagar, including planned discussions with Indian officials on energy cooperation.
