NEW DELHI :
INDIA and the United States have sorted out the bulk of the issues relating to the proposed trade deal, including tariff lines, and the deal could be sealed “soon” as talks continue to resolve the last stretch of concerns, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said
on Saturday.
His remarks come a month before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to the US for the G20 Summit, on the sidelines of which he and President Donald
Trump may meet to review the broader trajectory of bilateral ties and progress on the trade pact.
In an interactive session at the HT Leadership Summit, the external affairs minister said the negotiations are approaching the “finishing line”, adding that many of the remaining issues are “not so much at our end” and that more changes have occurred on the American side.
“Well, it’s certainly our hope, and in many ways anticipation that we are at the last stretch. That’s not a secret,” he said responding to a question on the negotiations for the trade pact.
There has been speculation that India and the US may announce the trade deal following talks between Modi an