India and the United States (US) are in the final stages of concluding a much-anticipated interim trade agreement, with the deal expected to be signed within the next few weeks or months, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Friday.
Speaking at the US-India TRUST Initiative event at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Gor said bilateral negotiations had entered the last 1 per cent phase.
“Just last week, India had sent a team to Washington DC to finalise the last 1 per cent of that trade deal. Next week we will welcome a US delegation here to continue those talks,” he said.
“We fully expect that the trade deal will be signed over the next few weeks and months,” the ambassador added. His remarks come days after India’s Commerce Ministry announced that a high-level US trade delegation will visit India from June 1 to 4 to finalise the remaining clauses of the proposed bilateral agreement.
Highlighting the rapid expansion of economic ties, Gor said bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries has grown from around USD 20 billion to more than USD 220 billion over the past two decades.
Emphasising India’s growing strategic significance, the ambassador said Washington now views New Delhi as a key partner both economically and geopolitically.
“The importance of India is now not only economically but strategically to the world,” he said. Gor noted that the TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technologies) initiative, launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this year, is strengthening cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy and space.
He said the United States is prioritising partnerships with trusted nations in emerging technology sectors and described India as one of Washington’s most reliable collaborators.
The ambassador also highlighted India’s inclusion in the Pax Silica initiative, a US-led trusted technology and supply-chain network.
“The reason India was in the first top 10 countries around the world to join this is that we trust this place. We trust the people here, we trust the technology, we trust your government,” Gor said.
According to him, the initiative aims to build resilient supply chains and trusted ecosystems in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing.
On artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, Gor said major American technology firms are significantly increasing investments in India. He cited Amazon’s planned USD 35 billion investment by 2030, Microsoft’s USD 17.5 billion commitment to expand cloud infrastructure, and Google’s subsea cable landing project in the country.
The ambassador also underscored India’s growing importance in global pharmaceutical supply chains.
“On pharmaceuticals, we import close to 40 per cent of our generics from India,” he said, adding that the US relies on India for critical and life-saving medicines.
In the space sector, Gor highlighted ongoing cooperation between the two nations, including the recent NASA-ISRO NISAR mission and India’s participation in the Axiom-4 mission.
He added that collaboration is also expanding under the Artemis Accords and in commercial space opportunities.
On critical minerals, the ambassador welcomed India’s National Critical Minerals Mission and said both countries are working together to strengthen supply chains, processing, recycling and research partnerships in the sector. @Mitali Gautam see if we have done this. pls publish if not