US says trade talks with India see ‘positive developments’; deal possible by year-end

Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi during an earlier interaction. PIC/AFP

The US has indicated that trade negotiations with India are advancing, with a senior administration official describing "a lot of positive developments" in recent discussions between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters, the official confirmed that Washington is pursuing a reciprocal trade agreement with New Delhi while simultaneously addressing concerns over India's purchases of Russian oil. "I think we've had a lot of positive developments with them recently," the official said, adding that talks could yield results "before the end of the year."

"We have two things going on with them. Of course, we have a reciprocal trade negotiation, but we also have a Russian oil issue, where we've seen market improvement on that end. So I think that we, I'd like to say we can relax and take a break, but there's still a lot to do, but a lot of positive progress going on already, and we may have more to come before the end of the year," the official said.

The US administration is managing two issues with India. The first involves reciprocal trade negotiations, which typically aim to balance tariffs and market access between countries. The second concerns what the official termed the "Russian oil issue," though they noted "market improvement on that end."

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