India is signaling confidence that it will finalize a new trade deal with the United States before the end of 2025, with Reuters reporting that most outstanding issues between the two nations have been largely resolved. The optimism comes despite Washington’s decision in late August to impose 50 percent import tariffs while negotiations were still underway, a move that put additional pressure on India to engage on several longstanding disputes.
President Donald Trump said in early November that discussions with India’s Prime Minister were progressing well. The administration has been pushing India to scale back its oil imports from Russia and lower tariffs across multiple sectors, including agriculture, which has been a persistent friction point in bilateral talks.
India’s trade secretary addressed the outlook during a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry event, emphasizing that a formal trade framework must be established first. That framework would allow the two countries to tackle concerns such as reciprocal tariffs. He added that any remaining challenges could be settled at the political level, expressing confidence that an agreement is achievable before the end of this calendar year.
Meanwhile, India’s trade deficit with the United States climbed to a record high in October, underscoring the urgency both sides face in rebalancing the commercial relationship.