Currently on his second official India visit, Rubio sounded hopeful of a deal being finalised soon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that India and the US are “very, very close” to finalising a trade agreement.
Prior to that, US President Donald Trump had announced a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian energy, seeking to cushion the impact of soaring fuel prices in the US. Rubio’s remarks came days after the US waived some sanctions on Russia just as they were set to take effect.
Both moves marked a significant departure from the Trump administration’s earlier hard-line stance on Russian energy imports and countries purchasing Russian oil.
The US has earlier criticised India’s purchase of Russian oil and had even attributed it as the reason for imposing 50% tariffs on Indian imports last year.However, the duties were later taken down to 18% as trade talks between both sides progressed.
