US Envoy Hints at Final Obstacle in Indo-US Deal Negotiations

US and India Close to Finalizing Trade Deal

The United States and India are working to resolve the remaining sticking points in their trade deal, with the pact expected to be inked within the next several weeks. According to US Envoy to India Sergio Gor, a US trade team is currently in India negotiating the pact.

The framework for the pact was finalized in February, and top negotiators from both countries have begun a three-day round of talks to finalize the details of the proposed interim trade agreement. The US team is led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce.

The US envoy emphasized that the remaining sticking point is a minor issue, accounting for only one percent of the deal. "Once that trade deal is finalized, the interim trade deal will be in place. It is that one percent that we are trying to get across the finish line," Gor said. "We are very hopeful that that will get accomplished over the next weeks, several weeks, but it's not going to be years. We are very close to getting that done."

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The US-India trade talks have been ongoing despite recent developments, including the launch of two separate Section 301 investigations by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on March 11 and 12, 2026. The investigations covered 60 economies over concerns related to forced labor and excess industrial capacity.

The USTR issued its findings in the forced labor investigation on June 2, proposing additional tariffs on imports from 60 economies. However, Gor clarified that the tariffs imposed by the US were applied globally and were not targeted specifically at India. "These were tariffs that were applied to everybody, from the European Union to Canada to Mexico, to almost every other country in Asia, including Japan and South Korea," he said.