Govt hopeful of US trade deal soon, EAM to visit US next week

New Delhi: Following the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), and with external affairs minister S Jaishankar headed to Washington next week, India is hopeful ongoing efforts for a successful conclusion of the bilateral trade deal with the US will also soon come to fruition.While Jaishankar is visiting the US for a meeting on critical minerals that his counterpart Marco Rubio is hosting on Feb 4 with partner countries of the US, the minister will also have a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Marco Rubio during which issues related to trade are expected to come up. According to sources, Indian authorities and their US counterparts remained engaged over the deal, even while India was putting final touches on the FTA with EU.“The two sides remain in touch on that (US deal). I think even during the time that we were in final stages of negotiating this deal (EU FTA), the trade negotiators were in touch with their US counterparts as well. So, that work is continuing and we are hopeful of a positive outcome on that front as well,” said a source, speaking on condition of anonymity.India and the US committed to negotiating a bilateral trade deal as far back as Feb 2025, but have not been able to seal it even after multiple rounds of negotiations. According to Indian govt, both sides came close to a balanced and mutually beneficial deal on several occasions before talks fizzled out. Earlier this month, the govt stressed it remained interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and looked forward to concluding it.Jaishankar’s visit might also see some discussions on the US invitation to India to join Pax Silica, a US-led initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chains, from critical minerals and energy to AI and semiconductors. US ambassador to India Sergio Gor had extended an invitation to India to join the initiative on his first day in office earlier this month.Talking about the FTA with EU, sources also said that the WTO-oriented system was under stress, forcing countries to find deals wherever they could with important trading partners. “The US market is as important, if not more. And we therefore have to keep our eyes on the ball there in terms of wanting to get that trade deal across the finish line as well,” said a source, while strongly denying that the FTA with the EU was a knee-jerk reaction to any lack of progress in other deals being discussed.“We had been at it (EU FTA) for a long time. The decisive moment was the visit of EU College of Commissioners last year when there was political guidance to get the deal done,” the source added.This story had continued from a page 27 story in the newspaper. For your reading convenience we have added it below.India hopeful of an early US trade dealForeign minister S Jaishankar heads to Washington next week, with India hopeful that efforts to seal a bilateral trade deal with the US will soon come to fruition. Officials said the two side remained engaged even while India was putting final touches on the FTA with EU.