India and US inching closer to trade agreement – Trump

US President Donald Trump has said Washington and New Delhi are close to clinching a trade deal aimed at boosting economic ties, energy exports, and investments.

Trump’s statement came during the swearing-in ceremony of the US envoy to India, Sergio Gor, on Monday.

“We're getting a fair deal, just a fair trade deal. We're making a deal with India, [a] much different deal than we had in the past,” Trump said.

Talks between the countries hit an impasse after India was reportedly reluctant to agree to some of Washington’s conditions, including opening up its agricultural sector and dairy market.

The US has slapped 50% tariffs on India, including 25% as reciprocal levies, and the rest as a punitive measure for the import of Russian oil.

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Last week, Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen on him visiting India, and that talks regarding a trade deal were “going great.”

Trump also claimed India was moving away from Russian oil purchases. India’s Foreign Ministry has reiterated that the South Asian nation’s decisions on sourcing energy were based on national interest and consumer welfare.

India’s state-owned oil and gas company, Indian Oil Corporation, said in October that it will continue to buy Russian crude as long as it does not violate sanctions.

“Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines which have got sanctions,” Anuj Jain, director of finance at IOC, said.

In September, 34% of India’s oil imports came from Russia, according to Kpler data. On average, about 1.8 million barrels of Russian oil reach India a day.

The punitive tariffs imposed by the US on India had pushed it roughly on par with Brazil, hitting industries including garments, gems and jewelry, footwear, furniture, and chemicals.

India had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion with the US, and bilateral trade was pegged at $132.2 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year.