BIASED': INDIA ON U.S. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT

India and the US are engaged in "active and intense" negotiations for a trade deal and the Trump administration has shown it is more open to forging a stronger partnership with New Delhi in crucial areas such as defence, energy and tech, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

NEW DELHI:

Jaishankar, speaking at an event organised by Asia Society, said there is a "strong business case" for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US but declined to prejudge the outcome of ongoing talks between Indian negotiators and a visiting US team led by assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch. His comments came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's threat of imposing reciprocal tariffs from April 2.

Acknowledging the need to balance tariffs and US subsidies in crucial areas such as agriculture in any trade deal, Jaishankar said he was confident the Indian negotiators were aware of the country's interests and will finalise the "best possible deal for us".

Jaishankar, who was participating in a conversation with Asia Society president Kyung-wha Kang, a former foreign minister of South Korea, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump had a "very open discussion" on trade at their meeting in Washington last month and this led to their decision to conclude a BTA by the fall of 2025.

"That is what is currently under discussion... My colleague, the commerce minister [Piyush Goyal], was in the US last month, and since then, we've been working the trade account through virtual means. There's a very active and intense trade discussion going on at this point of time," he said. "I wouldn't prejudge the outcome. I would wait and see really what happens in terms of our ability to reach an understanding with the US," he said while responding to a question about balancing tariffs and US subsidies.