Rubio in Mumbai: US-India Trade Deal 'Very Close,' Bilateral Trade Now at $240 Billion
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat down with India Today consulting editor Raj Chengappa at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on October 23, joined by U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, for an interview covering the U.S.-India trade deal, energy ties, civil nuclear cooperation and the Quad.
Asked about the trade negotiations, Rubio said: "We are very close, to be frank." He said the two countries need a fair trade arrangement, and that a reliable deal would remove uncertainty for American companies investing in India, while India needs predictable, sustainable access to the U.S. market.
Gor said bilateral trade has reached about $240 billion, up from roughly $20 billion 15 years ago, and that the goal is to raise it to $500 billion within three years. On energy, the two discussed U.S. support for India diversifying its energy sources, including purchases of Venezuelan crude, and expanding India's refining capacity. On civil nuclear cooperation, they discussed working together on small modular reactors.
On the Quad, Rubio said the grouping will continue, and that the United States wants deeper cooperation with India, Japan and Australia on critical minerals, super intelligence and shipbuilding. He added that the visa policy reforms the administration is pursuing are global in scope, not directed at India. On the Russia-Ukraine war, Rubio said the United States believes the conflict can ultimately be resolved only through diplomacy.
Related: Rubio Meets India's Foreign Minister in Mumbai, Says U.S.-India Trade Deal Is "Very, Very Close"
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 孟买 Taj Mahal Palace 酒店与印度门（图：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0））
