WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the United States and India are 'pretty close' to a trade deal and that the pact would be 'much different' from earlier ones. He was speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday.
"They want to make a deal. We're going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah," Trump said, according to news agency PTI. "It's going to be a much different kind of deal," he added.
The remarks, carried by Times Now, The Times of India and The Hans India, came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India.
Rubio met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday. He said a "small number of items" were left to wrap up and that the two sides were "about as close as you can be" to a deal, PTI reported. It is Rubio's second India visit this year.
India and the US announced the framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement in February. Changes in US tariffs led to further talks. Bilateral ties have been strained over US tariff and immigration policies.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier this month to discuss the finer aspects of the deal.
(With inputs from PTI)