A long-anticipated trade agreement between India and the United States is at a “very advanced stage,” India’s minister of petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday (27). His comments came on the same day that India and the European Union announced a major free trade deal.
Speaking to CNBC’s Amitoj Singh, Puri urged patience over the timing of trade agreements. “I would try and look at the positive side. I’m not a soothsayer. I don’t know when trade deals will get signed or how long it takes,” he said. “But I think everybody needs to chill a bit.”
Puri added that negotiators involved in talks with the United States had told him discussions were progressing well. “I’m told by the people who are in it that it’s at a very advanced stage, and I’m hoping that, sooner rather than later, it will also see the light of day,” he said, referring to a potential US-India deal.
Describing ties between New Delhi and Washington as “very strong,” Puri said India remains committed to a multilateral trading system. He pointed to the newly announced free trade agreement with the European Union as evidence of India’s openness to trade and economic cooperation.
According to Puri, this approach should also benefit the United States as negotiations continue. “There’s an economic opportunity here for others who want trade deals,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a mutual benefit, not only for the EU, but the United States and elsewhere also.”
However, the announcement of the EU–India deal has raised questions about how president Donald Trump might respond. The agreement between India and the EU will gradually reduce tariffs on most goods traded between the two sides, strengthening their economic ties.
Despite ongoing talks with both partners, the United States continues to impose high tariffs on imports from the EU and India. European exports to the U.S. currently face a 15 per cent duty, while Indian goods are subject to a much steeper 50 per cent tariff. Part of the reason for the higher levy on India is its continued purchase of oil from Russia.
President Trump has not yet commented publicly on the EU-India trade agreement, which was announced early Tuesday (27) morning in Europe. However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already criticized the European Union for moving ahead with the deal.
“The U.S. has made much bigger sacrifices than Europeans have,” Bessent said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday (25). “We put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And then the Europeans went ahead and signed a trade deal with India.”
As trade diplomacy intensifies, India appears focused on balancing relationships with major global partners while pushing forward agreements it believes will support long-term economic growth.
