Rubio and Jaishankar meet in Mumbai

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday to advance trade and energy cooperation between the two countries.

Trade deal nearly complete

Rubio told reporters the two countries are very close to finalizing a trade agreement. He said a small number of items remain to wrap up and expects completion shortly.

“We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.”

Months of stalled negotiations

India and the United States have been trying to revive trade negotiations stalled for months by tensions over American tariffs and the Indian government's purchases of Russian oil.

Tariff history and current rate

Washington imposed tariffs of up to fifty percent on most Indian goods in August twenty twenty-five after trade talks broke down. Under a framework agreed in February, the rate was reduced to eighteen percent.

India's energy diversification challenge

Rubio acknowledged India has diversified its energy sources but continues buying substantial volumes of Russian oil because it is difficult to pivot suppliers quickly, though India remains an important US ally.

“You've got countries like India, for example, that have voluntarily diversified their energy portfolio, but are still getting a substantial amount of energy from Russia because it's hard to pivot from one day to the next.”

Trilateral meeting with UAE

Jaishankar and Rubio also held a trilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss regional energy security and shared economic priorities.

Rubio's refinery visit planned

Rubio is scheduled to visit the Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat state on Wednesday and meet with business leaders. The facility, operated by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, is the world's largest refining complex.