US and India Near Final Trade Deal as Rubio Holds Talks With Jaishankar in Mumbai

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held talks with India's foreign minister in Mumbai as the two countries seek to deepen energy cooperation and move closer to finalizing a trade deal.

India and the United States seek to revive trade negotiations stalled for months by tensions over American tariffs and the Indian government's purchases of Russian oil.

Rubio told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday that the two sides are very, very close, about as close as they can be without having executed the agreement, and that a small number of items remain to wrap up so it will happen shortly.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said they discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties in trade, energy, technology and defense, along with talks on regional developments.

Jaishankar and Rubio also held a trilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was also visiting India. Rubio said the three officials met to discuss regional energy security and advance shared economic priorities.

Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on most Indian goods in August 2025 after trade talks broke down. Under a framework agreed upon in February, the tariff rate was reduced to 18 percent, but the negotiations have since stalled.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the talks had plateaued. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, however, said last week that the first tranche of a trade deal was in its final stages.

India says its final tariff rate should be similar to those of competing manufacturing countries such as Vietnam.

India's purchases of discounted Russian crude since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 have strained ties with the United States at times. The Indian government has said it would expand energy imports, including from the United States, while diversifying suppliers to maintain market stability and keep prices affordable.

Despite tensions, the two countries continue to deepen defense and technology ties, with Washington viewing India as a key counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific.

Rubio's visit to India follows a trip to Uzbekistan this week to promote trade and ties with Central Asia. He told reporters in the United States on Saturday before his departure that India had diversified its energy sources but continued to buy substantial volumes of Russian oil, making an immediate shift to other suppliers difficult, while also calling India an important ally and partner of the United States.

Rubio is scheduled to visit a refinery in the city of Jamnagar in Gujarat state on Wednesday and meet with business leaders, according to the U.S. State Department. The Jamnagar facility, operated by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, is the world's largest refining complex. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the company was investing 300 billion dollars to set up an oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas.