Washington DC: The United States is on the verge of concluding a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday, October 19, 2026. Speaking ahead of his official visit to India on Tuesday, Rubio highlighted the strategic alignment between Washington and New Delhi, noting that recent US waivers on Russian oil sanctions were necessitated by global energy market stability and pricing considerations. The upcoming diplomatic engagement aims to cement economic cooperation while addressing shared energy and tariff priorities.
What US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on US-India trade deal?
“We have had to waive sanctions over the past few months because of the impact on global supplies and prices… We have to manage all of these things. We are trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now. We are very close to doing that. That’s one of the things we take into consideration when the President makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature. Every country has a complex set of factors that it has to take into account. Geography is real.
For some countries, it’s very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources. That’s not an excuse, but all of that has to be balanced when making foreign policy,” he said during his Central Asia visit. India and the United States are close to sealing the first part of a trade agreement, with dairy access the biggest remaining obstacle ahead of his visit to India on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has signed an order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act and waiving its tariffs on buyers of Russian oil. At its core, the trade negotiation is an exchange: lower and predictable US tariffs on Indian goods in return for wider access for American products in India.
Under a framework announced in February, the US cut its reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent and removed an additional 25 per cent duty linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil. In return, India committed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on US industrial goods and a range of farm products, including tree nuts, fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
(With inputs from agencies)
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