US and India Say Trade Deal Is in Final Steps

The United States and India are close to completing a bilateral trade agreement, with US Ambassador Sergio Gor saying the deal was in its final steps and that only the last 1% of the text remained to be settled. Gor made the comments at a US-India business summit, and his Indian counterparts expressed the same optimism.

Negotiators have worked on the agreement for roughly 18 months, according to Indian reporting, and a recent court ruling on US tariff authority briefly slowed the process before high-level talks revived it. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown from about $20 billion two decades ago to roughly $220 billion, and President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have set a target of $500 billion.

The effort reflects a broader pattern in which trading partners negotiate bilateral arrangements to manage their exposure to Washington's revived tariff regime. For India, a deal would secure access to the US market and deepen a strategic alignment. For Washington, it advances an effort to shift supply chains away from China.