India-US trade deal in final stretch: Sergio Gor

Washington, June 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The proposed India-US trade agreement is in its "last one or two per cent" and negotiators are working to resolve the remaining issues, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said, expressing confidence that the deal would soon be concluded after nearly 18 months of negotiations.

Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit, Gor said officials from both countries had intensified engagement in recent weeks to bring the agreement across the finish line.

"Just last week, US (Trade Representative) Ambassador (Jameison) Greer visited us in Delhi for two days and we are in hopefully the final steps of this deal. Most of this deal is complete. There's a few items that remain from both sides, but it's in the last one or 2 per cent of that deal," Gor said.

He said the negotiations had taken time because of their complexity, while noting that trade agreements of this scale often require years to conclude.

"People ask you, why is this taken so long? We've been at the trade deal for a year and a half. To put it into perspective, the European trade deal took 20 years. And so, no matter what, as long as we beat the European deal, I think we're in good shape," he said.

Gor said he remained determined to complete the agreement, describing it as beneficial for both countries.

"But I'm determined to bring this to a close because this is a deal that is beneficial to both sides. This is not one side or the other. This is a win-win situation where both sides can do incredible things and take this relationship to the next level," he said.

He added that the agreement would provide greater certainty for businesses engaged in bilateral trade.

"It's also a deal that frankly for a lot of individuals in this room bring stability. For those of you that trade bilaterally, it's something that's incredibly useful and helpful," Gor said.

The ambassador said both governments had maintained an intensive pace of negotiations in recent weeks, citing multiple high-level exchanges between trade officials.

"As I mentioned, the trade deal, we're close to getting it done at very active negotiations. I mean, pretty much the last three weeks we've had travels back and forth. Minister Goyal was in New York... followed by Ambassador Greer in Delhi right afterwards," he said.

Gor said bilateral trade had already expanded dramatically over the past two decades and was poised for another leap.

"Over the past two decades, our bilateral trade has increased from 20 billion to 220 billion. That's an incredible job and it's also something that we're gonna take to a much higher level," he said.

He pointed to the ambitious target announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase bilateral trade to $500 billion.

"What President Trump and Prime Minister Modi announced as a bilateral trade goal of $500 billion over the next few years, that's an astounding number that is unmatched," Gor said.

"We are ready to do so much with India. India exports more to the United States than anywhere else by far," he added.

Rejecting suggestions that bilateral ties had weakened, Gor said the overall relationship remained on a strong footing.

"So to all those pundits that sit online and tweet and say, this relationship is in trouble, when you look at the facts of where this relationship stands, whether it's trade, whether it's defense, whether it's the people to people ties, the relationship is on strong footing," he said.

Gor said President Trump attached significant importance to ties with India and remained committed to expanding cooperation across trade, technology, defence and investment.

The United States and India have been negotiating the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement aimed at expanding market access, reducing trade barriers and strengthening economic cooperation. The initiative gained renewed momentum after President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed to pursue a roadmap to raise bilateral trade to $500 billion.

The trade negotiations form a key pillar of the broader India-US strategic partnership, which has expanded significantly in recent years across defence, critical and emerging technologies, energy, semiconductors and supply chain resilience. Both governments have repeatedly described the relationship as one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.

Source: IANS