India-US trade deal weeks away as negotiators resolve 99% of issues, says US Ambassador Sergio Gor

MUMBAI: India and the US have resolved 99% of the issues holding up an interim trade agreement and are likely to finalize the deal within weeks, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said on Wednesday.

“We’re very hopeful that the deal will get accomplished over the next weeks, several weeks. But it’s not going to be years. We’re very close to getting that done,” Gor said in response to a question at Citi’s 2026 India Conference in Mumbai.

On 7 February, India and the US issued a joint statement outlining the contours of the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement, or BTA. Both sides now need to convert that framework into a legally binding text.

Gor's comments come even as trade frictions persist between the two countries. On Tuesday, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) proposed trade action against 60 economies, including India, following investigations conducted under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.

In a statement, the USTR said it had concluded that the acts, policies and practices of the 60 economies are “unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce”, making them actionable under US trade law.

India is among 54 economies that, according to the USTR, have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on imports made with forced labour. The list also includes Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates.

The development comes at a sensitive time in India-US economic relations, with both countries working towards concluding the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement. Officials from New Delhi and Washington have held multiple rounds of negotiations in recent months, with market access, tariffs, digital trade and agriculture among the key issues under discussion.

The proposed USTR action follows months of trade tensions triggered by Trump's reciprocal tariff policy. India was among the countries threatened with higher tariffs in 2025, before Washington temporarily paused some of the measures to allow negotiations with trading partners. New Delhi has maintained that it is seeking a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement while protecting sensitive domestic sectors.

Responding to a question on US tariff actions, Gor said the measures were not targeted specifically at India and had been applied globally. He added that the proposed trade arrangement placed India in a more favourable position than many regional peers.

“The interim trade deal that was announced by the White House and by the Prime Minister here has India at a lower rate than any of your neighbours,” he said.

Gor sought to play down concerns about delays in finalizing the proposed trade agreement, saying such negotiations are inherently complex. “The European Union deal with India took 19 years. These are massive, complex deals that involve not hundreds but tens of thousands of points sometimes.”

When asked about the remaining sticking points, Gor declined to disclose specifics but said the unresolved issues largely involved “technicalities”, including legal language and implementation timelines.

The ambassador also stressed that US President Donald Trump places a high value on ties with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“President Trump deeply values the relationship with India, he deeply values his friendship with the Prime Minister, and he wants to move things on a further path,” Gor said.

Highlighting the growth in bilateral economic engagement, Gor said trade between the two countries had increased eleven-fold over the past two decades, from $20 billion to $220 billion in goods and services.

He also said India had emerged as a trusted partner for the US in strategic sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to critical minerals and advanced technologies. Referring to recent cooperation initiatives, he cited the US-India Critical Minerals Framework and collaboration on artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technologies.