NEW DELHI: India and the US have resolved most issues concerning their proposed trade agreement, including tariff lines, and the pact could be finalised soon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, indicating that negotiations had reached their final stage.
Speaking at an interactive session at the HT Leadership Summit, Jaishankar said the remaining concerns were largely on the American side and expressed hope that both countries would conclude the negotiations shortly.
"It's certainly our hope, and in many ways anticipation, that we are at the last stretch. That's not a secret," he said, responding to a question on the progress of the trade talks.
"The hope is that we should close it out soon. It's always the case that in that last period, everybody's impatient," he added.
His remarks come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the US next month for the G20 Summit in Miami on December 14 and 15. Modi and US President Donald Trump are expected to discuss bilateral relations and the progress of the proposed trade pact on the sidelines of the summit.
Jaishankar said the bulk of the issues had been resolved, including tariff-related matters, after detailed negotiations between the two sides.
"If you are serious, you go tariff line by tariff line. That takes time. Now we've done it the painstaking way," he said, adding that the negotiations had reached "almost the finishing line".
The minister said India was seeking a trade agreement that was balanced, mutually beneficial and provided its goods with a comparative advantage over those from comparable economies.
"For us, the key is that we want a trade deal which is beneficial, it is balanced and which would give us a comparative advantage over groups of comparable economies," he said.
Describing the US as India's biggest market and the world's largest economy, Jaishankar said a trade agreement with Washington would benefit India. He added that the challenge was to find a mutually acceptable arrangement, given the US administration's efforts to secure bilateral trade deals.
The two countries have been negotiating the proposed agreement since early 2025 to address tariff-related differences, remove non-tariff barriers and improve market access.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also said last month in Mumbai that both sides were close to finalising the agreement.
Jaishankar said trade negotiations involved serious economic considerations, including their implications for jobs and livelihoods, and could not be concluded through hurried decisions.
He also said India's recent free trade agreements had been more carefully assessed, both strategically and economically, compared with some of its earlier agreements with Asian economies.
The proposed trade deal assumes significance amid a downturn in India-US relations following Washington's imposition of punitive tariffs on Indian goods last year, Trump's claims about his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military conflict in May 2025, and differences over immigration policies and H-1B visa fees.
Tensions have also emerged over Washington's decision to restrict a green-card processing programme affecting major Indian IT companies, including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.
(With inputs from PTI)
