"US Nears Completion of Interim Trade Deal as Jaishankar Holds Talks with Rubio in Philippines"

India and US Nearing Completion of Interim Trade Deal

During a recent meeting in Manila, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the progress on the interim trade deal between India and the US, stating that it is "almost complete." The meeting focused on various aspects of the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, defense, security, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.

Jaishankar and Rubio also exchanged perspectives on regional, global, and multilateral issues of mutual interest, touching on topics such as the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine. US State Department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, highlighted the discussions on finalizing key defense agreements and the importance of completing the interim trade deal.

Ambassador Sergio Gor hinted at the possibility of Secretary Rubio visiting India later this year, following the productive bilateral meeting between the two officials during the ASEAN meetings. The discussions also included recent developments in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region.

In a separate development, US President Donald Trump aounced plans to onshore drug manufacturing by imposing tariffs on imported generic medicines. This move, which could impact India as the largest exporter of generic drugs to the US, involves keeping tariffs at zero percent for two years before increasing them to 100 percent in August 2028 and 200 percent thereafter.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, brings over 25 years of journalistic experience to his reporting on foreign affairs. With accolades such as the Ramnath Goenka Journalism Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2016 and the IIMCAA Award for Journalist of the Year in 2022, Roy's coverage of significant events like the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and the fall of Kabul has been widely recognized.