The US secretary of state said the two countries are \u201cas close as you can be\u201d to a deal without having executed the agreement<\/p>\n
India and the US are \u201cvery close\u201d to finalizing a bilateral trade deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
\n\u201cWe are very, very close,\u201d Rubio told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, with US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, by his side. \u201cI would say we are about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.\u201d The two countries have been negotiating the deal for months.
\nAlthough the US Supreme Court threw out the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on India, along with on other countries, New Delhi has held off signing the deal as it sought terms that gave it a competitive advantage in the US market.
\nHowever, Trump recently waived \u201cbone crushing sanctions\u201d on the buyers of Russian oil, including India \u2013 the prospects of which had worried policy planners in New Delhi \u2013 removing a potential major obstacle to the deal.
\nRubio called India a very important partner, and said there will be some good news to announce very soon.<\/p>\n
#WATCH | US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits the Gateway of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra, accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.<\/p>\n
#MarcoRubio #IndiaUSRelations #Mumbai #DevendraFadnavis https:\/\/t.co\/BxifwllfGf\u2014 DD India (@DDIndialive) October 20, 2026<\/p>\n
On Monday, while in Uzbekistan, Rubio showed that the Trump administration recognizes New Delhi\u2019s arguments about buying Russian oil. India is the world\u2019s third biggest crude importer and the second largest buyer of Russian oil.
\n\u201cEvery country has a complex set of factors that they \u2060have to take into account,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cGeography is real. For some countries, it\u2019s very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources.\u201d
\nRubio\u2019s focus on his trip, the second this year to India, is oil. He is meeting Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who owns the world\u2019s largest refinery complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat state, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Rubio in India: What the US secretary\u2019s itinerary signals<\/p>\n
The Trump administration is trying to bring down fuel prices amid an affordability crisis that has hit the US and is threatening the prospects of the Republican Party in November\u2019s midterm elections.
\nTapping Reliance\u2019s massive refining capacity and allowing its output to flow into the world markets is important for the administration\u2019s push.
\nRubio said he will also talk of India buying more Venezuelan oil with Ambani. The Reliance refinery is configured to refine the heavy Venezuelan crude.
\nRubio said \u201cenergy is a matter of national security as well,\u201d justifying his focus on oil.
\nHe is also meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US secretary of state said the two countries are \u201cas close as you can be\u201d to a deal without having executed the agreement India and the US are \u201cvery…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t