The United States and India are making progress on their trade deal negotiations, but there are several points of contention yet to be resolved.
According to a report by ANI, the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated on Thursday that both countries are near the end of negotiations for a trade deal. However, he also mentioned that an agreement is not imminent as both sides have identified a 'universe of items' that are sticking points.
Greer made these comments after meeting Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal during the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The US is hosting the G20 this year.
He described his conversation with Goyal as 'very constructive.' Greer also mentioned that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could speak again 'very soon' to review the progress of the trade deal.
In July, the US imposed a 10% tariff on goods purchased from India citing inadequate measures to prevent forced labor. India has denied these allegations.
Before this, it is noted that India had reduced its purchases of Russian oil, which fell to a 38-month low in December, but later increased to an 11-month high in April following the US and Israel's war on Iran. Over the past year, there have been diplomatic tensions between Washington and New Delhi over India’s continued purchases of Russian crude.
The Trump administration had previously imposed a 25% punitive levy on India for buying oil from Russia amid the Ukraine war in August 2025, taking the combined US tariff rate to 50%. This additional tariff was later removed after New Delhi and Washington agreed to an interim trade deal in February.
In January, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that India had stopped buying Russian oil after Trump imposed the punitive tariff.
Source:
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