Jaishankar and Rubio Discuss Trade Agreement between the US and India

Negotiations between India and the United States for a bilateral trade agreement were discussed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who stated that both sides want the trade deal to be completed as soon as possible.

About a week after US Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch traveled to India to discuss the bilateral trade agreement, Jaishankar and Rubio spoke over the phone. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to finalize the first part of the agreement by the fall of 2025 during their February meeting.

Jaishankar stated in a social media post that he discussed the trade deal with Rubio. "We decided to expedite the completion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement. He stated, "I look forward to staying in touch," but he gave no further information.

The American side did not issue an official statement about the discussion.

According to Jaishankar, he and Rubio talked about the Caribbean, Europe, West Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and the Indian subcontinent.

On April 2, Trump imposed 26% customised reciprocal tariffs on India as part of his regime of new levies for global trade partners. The so-called "Liberation Day" measures aim to balance trade with other countries while also boosting American manufacturing.

Since Trump's announcement, global financial markets have steadily declined, and his threat to raise tariffs on China on Monday added to the turbulence. Trump's comments raised the prospect of another escalation in a trade war that has wiped trillions of dollars from global markets.

Trump's 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the United States went into effect on Saturday, with customised reciprocal duties of up to 50% set to take effect on Wednesday.

When Lynch and his negotiators visited New Delhi from March 26 to 29, the two sides agreed on the broad framework for bilateral trade negotiations. According to India's commerce ministry, the two sides discussed improving market access and lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The commerce ministry has also stated that the government is "carefully examining the implications" of Trump's new tariffs and is consulting with industry and exporters to gather feedback on their assessment of the levies. The government is also looking into potential opportunities created by changes in US trade policy.