India-US trade pact soon: US Ambassador Sergio Gor
New Delhi: India has made a commitment to the US regarding Russian oil purchases, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said on Friday while indicating that Washington is in "active negotiation" over possible sale of Venezuelan oil to New Delhi.
The envoy also said the proposed India-US trade agreement will be signed "very soon" -- remarks that came ahead of a visit to Washington next week by an Indian trade delegation.
The US ambassador, speaking to reporters on the margins of the AI Impact Summit, announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "will be travelling to India very soon", in a matter of months and that the visit will be an opportunity to discuss many initiatives including engagements under Quad framework.
After US President Donald Trump announced the broad contours of a trade deal with India following his phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 2, Washington has been claiming that New Delhi has made a commitment to stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
In the face of the US claim, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said last week that India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement.
"On the oil, there's an agreement. I also don't want to be giving out too much, in the sense that what private conversations happened, occurred between the two leaders. We have seen India diversify on their oil. There is a commitment," Gor said.
"This is not about India. The US doesn't want anyone buying Russia. The President has been very clear on this -- he wants to end this war. So anyone who is, in a way, still involved with that conflict is something that the President wants to see come to an end in hopes of peace coming with that," he said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, when asked about Gor's remarks, referred to Misri's statement on the issue.
The US envoy also indicated that Washington is in active talks with New Delhi on its possible purchase of Venezuelan oil.
"Some of that aspect has not been announced yet, but there are active negotiations, the (US) department of energy is speaking to the ministry of energy here and so we're hoping to have some news on that very soon," he said.
Gor said Indian and US officials are holding negotiations on the trade agreement.
"The signing (of the trade deal) will happen very soon. Even this week, we have both teams talking to each other and actively getting to a place where both will be able to sign," he said.
"We're thrilled that the interim deal is done. You have a few tweaking points that are left to do but it's done. So the signing will happen sooner than later," he said, adding the proposed deal involves "tens of thousands of points" as the US is dealing with one of the world's biggest economies.
On the US removing tariffs on Indian goods, Gor said the process involves multiple mechanisms".
"That is making its way through the pipeline. The executive order specifically on oil was already signed...The second part of it on the tariffs being rebalanced, there's multiple things," he said.
"It's not just one piece of paper. It's multiple things, multiple departments, multiple areas. And so that will also happen very soon," he said.
Following the phone conversation between Modi and Trump, both sides announced reduction of US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. The reduction included removal of a 25 per cent tariff that Trump had slapped on India in August last year for New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil.
To a question on Trump's possible visit to India, Gor said didn't have any announcements on it, and noted that Modi had invited the president to visit the country.
The US envoy said the Trump administration is committed to the Quad.
The envoy also said the proposed India-US trade agreement will be signed "very soon" -- remarks that came ahead of a visit to Washington next week by an Indian trade delegation.
The US ambassador, speaking to reporters on the margins of the AI Impact Summit, announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "will be travelling to India very soon", in a matter of months and that the visit will be an opportunity to discuss many initiatives including engagements under Quad framework.
After US President Donald Trump announced the broad contours of a trade deal with India following his phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 2, Washington has been claiming that New Delhi has made a commitment to stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
In the face of the US claim, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said last week that India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement.
"On the oil, there's an agreement. I also don't want to be giving out too much, in the sense that what private conversations happened, occurred between the two leaders. We have seen India diversify on their oil. There is a commitment," Gor said.
"This is not about India. The US doesn't want anyone buying Russia. The President has been very clear on this -- he wants to end this war. So anyone who is, in a way, still involved with that conflict is something that the President wants to see come to an end in hopes of peace coming with that," he said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, when asked about Gor's remarks, referred to Misri's statement on the issue.
The US envoy also indicated that Washington is in active talks with New Delhi on its possible purchase of Venezuelan oil.
"Some of that aspect has not been announced yet, but there are active negotiations, the (US) department of energy is speaking to the ministry of energy here and so we're hoping to have some news on that very soon," he said.
Gor said Indian and US officials are holding negotiations on the trade agreement.
"The signing (of the trade deal) will happen very soon. Even this week, we have both teams talking to each other and actively getting to a place where both will be able to sign," he said.
"We're thrilled that the interim deal is done. You have a few tweaking points that are left to do but it's done. So the signing will happen sooner than later," he said, adding the proposed deal involves "tens of thousands of points" as the US is dealing with one of the world's biggest economies.
On the US removing tariffs on Indian goods, Gor said the process involves multiple mechanisms".
"That is making its way through the pipeline. The executive order specifically on oil was already signed...The second part of it on the tariffs being rebalanced, there's multiple things," he said.
"It's not just one piece of paper. It's multiple things, multiple departments, multiple areas. And so that will also happen very soon," he said.
Following the phone conversation between Modi and Trump, both sides announced reduction of US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. The reduction included removal of a 25 per cent tariff that Trump had slapped on India in August last year for New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil.
To a question on Trump's possible visit to India, Gor said didn't have any announcements on it, and noted that Modi had invited the president to visit the country.
The US envoy said the Trump administration is committed to the Quad.
