What is the story about?
India and the US will resume the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) talks on Tuesday, a day after US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor arrived in India. The announcement come amid President Donald Trump's claim that New Delhi is delaying the conclusion of the deal.
Talking about the India-US relationship on his first day in office, Gor said, "Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end. The US and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest level.”
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is Trump's "real" friend and that he can attest to this, having “travelled all over the world with President Trump.”
Talking about ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries, Gor said, "Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow (Tuesday)... India is the world’s largest nation. So, it’s not an easy task to get this across the finish line.” India and the US are in protracted negotiations for a trade deal. They are holding parallel negotiations — one, on a framework trade deal to address the high tariffs levied by the US, and the other on a comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement."
Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, highest among all other countries, with 25 per cent of it levied as a punitive measure for buying Russian oil.
Talking about the India-US relationship on his first day in office, Gor said, "Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end. The US and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest level.”
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is Trump's "real" friend and that he can attest to this, having “travelled all over the world with President Trump.”
On BTA
Talking about ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries, Gor said, "Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow (Tuesday)... India is the world’s largest nation. So, it’s not an easy task to get this across the finish line.” India and the US are in protracted negotiations for a trade deal. They are holding parallel negotiations — one, on a framework trade deal to address the high tariffs levied by the US, and the other on a comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement."
Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, highest among all other countries, with 25 per cent of it levied as a punitive measure for buying Russian oil.
A proposed agreement between the US and India seeks to more than double their bilateral trade, targeting a total of $500 billion by 2030 compared to the current $191 billion. This ambitious goal follows a strong period of economic cooperation, as the US maintained its position as India’s top trading partner for the fourth year in a row during FY25, with trade between the two nations reaching $131.84 billion.
“While trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas such as security, counterterrorism, energy, technology, education and health,” Gor said.
