US-India Trade Deal “90% There”: US Official
The official said work was under way to map shipping and road routes, while Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Israel still had to work out their parts of the corridor.
New York: The US-India trade deal is close to completion and could take bilateral relations to a new level, a senior US State Department official has said.
The two countries were “90 per cent-plus there”, with only a few final issues being worked out, the official said. “I hope you’re going to see something very soon on that,” the official said, adding that trade had long been a sticking point in the relationship.
“And that’s really going to just unleash another level of US-India relations, something that ... we haven’t been able to get there in decades when it comes to trade,” the official said.
Asked about secretary of state Marco Rubio’s planned visit to India in October, the official described it as part of the continuing attention to the bilateral partnership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the US for the G20 summit in Florida in December, and the official said there could be major announcements connected with the visit.
On the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the official said it remained a major priority for the US and India, but developments in the Middle East had delayed progress. The two countries were ready to move ahead, the official said, adding that greater regional stability could put the project back on track.
The official said work was under way to map shipping and road routes, while Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Israel still had to work out their parts of the corridor.