Rubio in Mumbai: U.S.-India trade deal “incredibly close”, possible in “weeks, not months”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Mumbai on 20 October that a trade agreement between the United States and India is “incredibly close” and could be announced “in a matter of weeks, not months”, as he held talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

According to the State Department readout, the two men discussed regional and global issues, including developments in the Middle East. Rubio, the readout says, reiterated that increased energy trade with the United States can play a “transformative role” in diversifying India’s supply chains, commended recent progress in bilateral defence and civil nuclear cooperation, and advocated greater Indian purchases of U.S. technologies and systems.

Trade deal: “technical details” left

In an interview with the Indian broadcaster Network18, published by the State Department, Rubio said the remaining work is down to technical details, because both sides must agree that the language means the same thing. He said he is not negotiating personally, since talks run through the U.S. Trade Representative, and that an announcement must wait until every detail is agreed. Earlier the same day he told reporters that a small number of items remained to be wrapped up and that he hoped to have good news soon.

Russian oil, sanctions and the waiver

Asked why Washington pressures India over Russian oil while itself buying Russian diesel, Rubio did not address the diesel purchases directly. He said sanctions affect not only Russia but anyone doing business with it, and described a “balancing act” between pressing the parties in the war in Ukraine to reach an agreement and the spill-over effect on third countries. He said this was why President Donald Trump used a national security waiver so as not to implement immediately the tariff and sanctions measures in the latest bill passed by Congress. His comments on Washington’s support for Kyiv from the same stop are covered in our report Rubio in Mumbai: U.S. aid and intelligence for Ukraine unchanged, interceptors are scarce worldwide.

Pakistan, the Quad and the Gulf

On Pakistan, Rubio said that as Secretary of State, rather than a senator, he must manage relationships with countries Washington may disagree with. Pakistan, he said, possesses nuclear weapons and the United States needs to be able to engage it, and he argued that such contact could help discourage the activities that worry India.

On the Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia, Rubio said the hope is for a leaders’ summit before the end of the year, to be held in Manila alongside the ASEAN meeting, with no date yet fixed. He said a further Quad engagement is due in Atlanta at the G20.

On the Gulf, Rubio said that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on a given night is 80 to 100 percent of its pre-conflict level, a figure that is his own and was not independently confirmed. He accused Iran of targeting commercial vessels and noted that many Indian sailors have died in strikes on ships.

The visit, Rubio said, was meant to see a part of India beyond New Delhi, and he described Mumbai as the country’s financial heart. All statements above are those of the U.S. side; the Indian government’s own account of the talks was not among the sources read for this report.