Amid tariff and H-1B tussle, Jaishankar and Rubio discuss issues of ‘current concern’

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) amid the H-1B visa row and tariff tensions.

This was their first meeting since relations soured following Washington’s decision to impose 50% tariffs as a penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil — a move US President Donald Trump argued was aiding Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.

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After the meeting, Rubio said India’s was a relationship of “critical importance” to the United States. He expressed appreciation for the Indian government’s continued engagement on various issues, including trade, defence, energy, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and other aspects of the bilateral partnership.

He added that both sides agreed to continue working together to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including through the Quad. Both leaders later shared updates on the meeting on the social media platform X.

Jaishankar said the talks touched on “a range of bilateral and international issues of current concern.” Posting on X, he added: “Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas. We will remain in touch.”

Rubio, in his post, wrote: “Met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at UNGA. We discussed key areas of our bilateral relationship, including trade, energy, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals and more to generate prosperity for India and the United States.”

According to officials, the meeting was aimed at advancing India-US ties and was described as a continuation of efforts to bridge divides that have emerged in recent months.

Rubio and Jaishankar last met in Washington in early July, and earlier in January this year. The latest interaction comes against the backdrop of a recent revival in India-US relations, with the restoration of bilateral trade talks earlier this month.

Notably, the meeting coincided with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to the US, where he is leading a delegation for trade negotiations. “The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieving early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

In its first response to President Trump’s decision to raise the annual H-1B visa fee to $100,000, India on Saturday had said the measure was likely to have humanitarian consequences by disrupting families, and hoped these concerns would be suitably addressed by US authorities.

India and the United States resumed trade negotiations last Tuesday (September 16) in New Delhi. The talks, which lasted nearly seven hours, focused on advancing a long-pending bilateral trade agreement — the first in-person engagement since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian exports last month.

The ties have further strained after White House recently marked huge changes to the H-1B visa programme. Under a new presidential proclamation, applicants will be required to pay an annual fee of $100,000 as visa fee starting September 21, 2025. Immigration experts said that the hike could disrupt the movement of Indian IT professionals and pose challenges for small businesses and startups. As per experts, the tech firms in US that employ Indian immigrants would be the hardest hit by the proclamation.