Highlights
- Rubio said he may travel to India this year to prepare for the presidential visit
- India and the US are working to finalise a long-awaited trade deal
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump recently held talks at the G7 summit in France
- Trade tensions and disagreements over tariffs and Russian oil purchases have strained relations
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump is likely to visit India early next year as Washington and New Delhi work towards finalising a bilateral trade agreement, secretary of state Marco Rubio has said.
Rubio said the US was trying to arrange a visit by Trump and that he was likely to travel to India this year to prepare for the president’s trip.
“We're working towards sometime early next year to have the president come,” Rubio told Indian media outlet IANS, according to a report published on Saturday (27).
The possible visit comes as India and the US attempt to strengthen ties and conclude months of negotiations over a trade pact that both sides view as important for their economic relationship.
Rubio said Washington was hopeful of completing the agreement soon. “We're on the last inches of getting it done and it's very positive,” he said.
Prime minister Narendra Modi met Trump last week on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, with the US president describing their conversation as “very good”.
India has been seeking a Trump visit for months, with discussions reportedly including the possibility of linking it to a wider engagement involving other members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, including Japan and Australia.
US-India relations face challenges
Relations between New Delhi and Washington have faced challenges over the past year after the US imposed higher tariffs on Indian goods, citing concerns linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil and other trade issues.
The relationship was further affected by disagreements after the deaths of three Indian sailors in attacks on commercial vessels by the US Navy in the Gulf.
Rubio visited India last month to improve ties and advance discussions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday (25) that the two nations were “very close” to finalising a trade agreement following talks with US trade representative Jamieson Greer in New Delhi.
Goyal said negotiations had focused on ensuring India received favourable treatment compared with other Asian economies, while Washington wanted New Delhi to increase imports of American goods.
“The day that happens, the deal is on,” Goyal said at an event in London.
An initial understanding reached in February included an 18 per cent tariff on Indian goods in exchange for India lowering trade barriers and purchasing more US products. However, progress was delayed after legal challenges to Trump’s wider tariff measures and further trade investigations complicated negotiations.
(with inputs from agencies)
