NEW DELHI: India and the United States have resolved most of the issues concerning their proposed trade deal, including tariff lines, and the agreement could be finalised soon, EAM S Jaishankar said on Saturday.Speaking at an interactive session, Jaishankar said negotiations had reached the “finishing line”, with both sides working to resolve the remaining concerns, news agency PTI reported.“Well, it’s certainly our hope, and in many ways anticipation that we are at the last stretch. That’s not a secret,” he said when asked about the progress of the negotiations.He added that most of the issues had been sorted out, but some concerns remained, with several of them arising from the American side.“The hope is that we should close it out soon. It’s always the case that in that last period, everybody’s impatient,” Jaishankar said.
Tariff negotiations reach final stage
The external affairs minister said both countries had worked through the negotiations in detail, including discussions on individual tariff lines.“If you are serious, you go tariff line by tariff line. That takes time. Now we’ve done it the painstaking way. Not everybody has had the patience or frankly the understanding to bear with it.“But I think having put in that effort, we have now reached almost the finishing line. I think bear with it and hopefully we’ll get it,” he said.Jaishankar said India was seeking a trade agreement that would be beneficial and balanced, while providing its exports with a competitive advantage over comparable economies.“For us the key is that we want a trade deal which is beneficial, it is balanced and which would give us a comparative advantage over groups of comparable economies,” he said.Jaishankar’s remarks come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to the US for the G20 Summit in Miami on December 14 and 15. Modi and US President Donald Trump are expected to have an opportunity to discuss bilateral ties and the progress of the proposed trade agreement on the sidelines of the summit.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
There has been speculation that the two countries could announce the trade deal following a meeting between the leaders.Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said in Mumbai that both sides were very close to finalising the agreement.India and the US have been negotiating the proposed trade pact since early 2025, with discussions aimed at addressing tariff-related differences, removing non-tariff barriers and improving market access for businesses in both countries.India-US relations witnessed a downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on Indian goods last year. Tensions also emerged after Trump claimed credit for helping de-escalate the India-Pakistan military conflict in May 2025, a claim that drew sharp reactions from Indian officials.
