‘So often close…’: Trump administration official on India-US trade deal; points out ‘complicated situation’ due to India-Russia ties – The Times of India

India and the US could soon agree on a trade deal, a senior Donald Trump administration official said. However, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council under the Trump administration, has noted that the situation is “complicated” because of what he called India’s “interactions” with Russia.US President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports to the US, of which 25% are punitive tariffs over India’s crude oil trade with Russia. Trump administration officials have accused India of indirectly financing Russia’s war machine against Ukraine through crude oil trading.

India-US Trade Agreement: What’s the Latest Update?

According to a PTI report, Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that the trade deal could be finalized soon. ‘Yes, we were certainly very close. I talked to the ambassador… you know, we had a visitor,” Hassett reportedly said.The question posed to him related to the trade deal with India, and Hassett noted that Washington had repeatedly come close to completing the deal.Since March, India and the US have been engaged in discussions over the proposed bilateral trade pact, with six rounds of negotiations completed so far.Hassett cited India’s “interaction” with Russia as a contributing factor to the “complicated situation.”“I think it’s a complicated situation because of the interaction between what India is doing with Russia and what India is doing with us, and so I think we’re still quite hopeful. But it got quite complicated because there are a lot of different variables in the Indian-American relationship, but they are good friends and we hope we can work it out soon,” Hassett said.Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said, “You will hear good news” about the proposed India-US trade pact once the deal is fair, equitable and balanced.The minister, speaking at an event in Delhi, emphasized that the agreement would provide safeguards to ensure the protection of India’s farming and fishing communities.