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Rubio and Jaishankar hold talks on US-India trade deal

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 13:32 · Archive

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India's Foreign Minister have held talks in Mumbai aimed at finalizing a stalled trade agreement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday. The two countries are seeking to finalize a trade deal and deepen energy cooperation after months of stalled negotiations.

Rubio told reporters the agreement was nearly complete. 'We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement. I think there's a small number of items left to wrap up, so I think that will happen shortly,' he said. The talks covered energy, trade, investment and defence.

Tensions have centred on US tariffs and India's Russian oil purchases. Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50% on most Indian goods in August 2025 after talks broke down, later reducing them to 18% under a February 2026 framework. Earlier this month, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said talks had 'plateaued', though Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the first tranche of a deal was in its final stages. India seeks tariff rates comparable to competing countries such as Vietnam.

Rubio and Jaishankar hold talks on US-India trade deal
Image: News4Jax

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In this story: Marco Rubio · Subrahmanyam Jaishankar · India · United States · Russia · Vietnam

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