New Delhi, Jan 16 (UNI) Indian and US trade teams are engaged in negotiations on reaching a mutually beneficial FTA agreement, the MEA said today, two days after EAM S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held telephonic talks.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, answering queries at the weekly briefing, said: “Our trade teams remain engaged on reaching a mutually beneficial agreement.”
He said trade was discussed between EAM Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Rubio during their telephonic conversation on January 13.
On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal was quoted as saying that India and the US are close to finalising a trade deal, but it would be announced when both sides feel prepared to do so.
“It’s very near; when both sides are ready and they feel that it is the right time to announce,” Agrawal is quoted as telling reporters.
He also said that negotiations on the FTA have been continuing, and had never broken down, and that the engagement had been continuing at various levels.
In December, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a virtual meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the trade deal, while US Ambassador Sergio Gor has said that both sides are working to firm up the trade agreement.
The positive engagements come in the backdrop of strains in the bilateral ties that had crept in following US President Trump’s decision to slap 50 percent tariffs on India, including 25 pc as a punitive measure for its imports of Russian oil.
On the Jaishankar-Rubio call, the US Embassy said that the two ministers had held “a positive call” during which they discussed next steps regarding the bilateral trade negotiations, critical minerals and a possible meeting next month.
Jaishankar, in a post on X, said he had held a “good conversation” with Rubio, during which they discussed trade, critical minerals, nuclear cooperation, defence and energy. And both sides agreed to remain in touch on these and other issues.
On Jan 7, the MEA spokesperson had said that India and the US have held multiple rounds of negotiation to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. “We remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and look forward to concluding it.”
Last week, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick had claimed that the trade deal with India had collapsed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not personally call President Donald Trump to “close” the negotiations, a claim that India said was “not accurate”.
