India-US trade deal ‘about as close as you can be,’ says Rubio as Trump hints at ‘different kind of deal’

• Rubio says India-US trade deal is “about as close as you can be”
• Trump says it will be “a much different kind of deal”
• Rubio urges India to buy more US energy and defense technology
• He calls India a “refining superpower” and pitches Venezuelan crude

INDIA and the United States are close to finalizing a trade deal, president Donald Trump and secretary of state Marco Rubio said Tuesday, as Rubio urged New Delhi to step up purchases of American energy and defense systems.

“I would say we’re about as close as you can be without having an executed agreement,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai, where he held talks with India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar.

“I think there’s a small number of items left to wrap up. So I think that will happen shortly—we’re hoping, which it should—and hopefully have some good news to announce fairly soon. And perhaps the leaders can sign it thereafter.”

Marco Rubio arrives in Mumbai as India and US push to close trade deal

In Washington, Trump said the two countries were “pretty close” to an agreement.

“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal,” Trump said at the Oval Office. “It’s going to be a much different kind of deal than we’ve done.”

Energy and defense push

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said both sides welcomed progress in the negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to concluding the agreement early.

The State Department said Rubio told Jaishankar that increased energy trade with the US could “play a transformative role in diversifying India’s supply chains.”

Rubio also praised progress in defense and civil nuclear cooperation and “advocated for the increased purchase of US technologies and systems,” the department said.

Jaishankar said the two discussed trade, energy, technology, defense and people-to-people ties. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who attended the meeting, described the talks as “productive.”

India-US trade deal influenced Trump to waive Russia oil sanctions, Rubio says

Before the meeting, Rubio laid a wreath at the Taj memorial in honor of the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which included six Americans.

Venezuela and Russian oil

Rubio described India as a “refining superpower” and pitched processing more Venezuelan crude in the country, noting that some Indian companies hold existing oil concessions in Venezuela.

Asked whether Washington was unhappy about India’s Russian oil purchases, he said India had made “substantial progress” in diversifying its energy sources.

“In the end, it’s not just about Russian oil; it’s about their desire to diversify, and obviously we think we can be a source of some of their energy inputs,” he said.

Rubio visits Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery on Wednesday.

Ties under strain

The visit, Rubio’s second to India in under five months, comes as relations remain strained over Washington’s unpredictable trade policies and tighter immigration rules.

India and the US announced a framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement in February, but changes to US tariffs have forced further negotiations. India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal met US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Milwaukee and Washington earlier this month.

(With inputs from PTI)