US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Thursday said negotiations for a bilateral trade deal were moving at an “incredible pace”, and the “big items are done”, underlining that he was confident that both sides will get the pact through.
During an interactive session at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum here, Gor also echoed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s assessment of the progress in the proposed India-US trade pact, saying “we are very close to landing it”.
Asked about the status of the negotiations, Gor said, “I won’t like to get into too many details at this stage, and let the ministers announce that. But in the grand scheme of things, big items are done.”
“We’re actively engaged... Within three weeks of arriving here, we announced a trade deal. The European Union trade deal took almost 20 years. So we’re at an incredible pace, and I am confident that we will get it done,” Gor said.
The India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was successfully concluded in January after nearly 20 years of negotiation. Later, in a post on X, Gor said, “The US-India partnership has come a long way, but the most important chapter is still ahead. At the
@BBGNewEconomy Forum, I spoke about the enormous potential of the US-India partnership, and why now is the time to turn commitments into real results!”
India has maintained that both sides remain engaged for a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement.
During the interaction, Gor said, “We have been at it for a year-and-a-half. We are at an incredible pace, I would say almost an unheard of pace… So I am confident that we will get it (the deal) done.”
The two sides continue to engage to iron out differences on the proposed deal, and negotiations are heading towards a “landing point”, Jaishankar had said at an earlier session at the Forum, noting that the core fundamentals of the bilateral strategic partnership remained unchanged.
Gor said, “We are getting there. I am confident that we will have a trade deal here, as you heard Dr Jaishankar say right on this stage, and we are very close to landing it.”
He was also asked about the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, and if there is any room for some sanctions relief or exemptions related to it for India.”That is a decision for the president,” Gor said, adding the legislation gives the US president that authority.
He has not imposed sanctions on any country yet. The bill was passed recently, and “he has to make a determination within the next 10 days or so, and I am sure we will see an announcement from the White House soon,” Gor said.
On September 18, US President Donald Trump signed into law the ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’, which authorises him to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during his meeting with a bipartisan US Congressional delegation in Delhi, had conveyed India’s “concerns” over the implications of the recently enacted Act on bilateral ties and the international energy market.