Rubio says US-India trade deal 'very close' as Russian fuel tariffs paused

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington is “very close” to finalising a trade deal with India.

“We’re trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now. We’re very close to doing that,” Rubio told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, ahead of a three-day visit to India starting Tuesday, according to Anadolu Agency.

Rubio is expected to arrive in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and later visit the world’s largest single-site oil refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

He linked the negotiations to President Donald Trump’s decision on Friday to waive sanctions related to Russian fuel sales, telling reporters: “We’ve had to waive sanctions over the past few months because of the impact on global supplies and prices.”

The waived measures, due to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, including India and China.

Rubio said Washington had to weigh each country’s “complex set of factors”: “Geography is real. For some countries, it’s very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources. That’s not an excuse, but all of that has to be balanced when making foreign policy.”

The US and India announced terms on an interim framework deal in February. Last week, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the first tranche has been finalised and is undergoing “legal drafting.”