Washington/New Delhi, Nov 18: A senior Trump administration official has said a long-discussed trade agreement between India and the United States could still be concluded “soon”, despite complexities in the bilateral relationship. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, speaking to CNBC on Monday, said both sides had been “very close” to finalising the pact in recent months.
“Yeah, we were for sure very close. I’ve spoken to the ambassador…you know, we’ve had visits,” Hassett said when asked about the trade deal and why it has repeatedly stalled. “I think that it’s a complicated situation because the interaction between what India does with Russia and with what India does with us… but they’re good friends and we’re hoping we can work it out soon,” he noted.
India and the US have held six rounds of negotiations since March on the proposed bilateral trade pact, which aims to address tariff issues, market access and regulatory concerns. Hassett said progress has been steady but the geopolitical overlap of India’s engagement with Moscow had introduced “a lot of different variables” into the discussions.
