Rubio, who is in Uzbekistan, is due to be in Mumbai on Tuesday for a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He is also scheduled to travel later in the week to Jamnagar, which is home to one of the world’s largest refineries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US is close to finalising a trade deal with India as Washington weighs Russia-related sanctions and tariff waivers affecting goods entering the US.
Rubio said waivers reflected global supply and price risks, India’s energy needs and gradual shift from Russian supplies.
Trump invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act to waive sanctions and duties.
Speaking to media in Uzbekistan, Rubio said the US was trying to complete a trade agreement with India and was very close to doing so. He said the matter was among the factors considered when the President makes decisions on national security waivers.
He said the US had waived sanctions over the past few months because of their effect on global supplies and prices. He added that each country has a complex set of factors to consider, including geography and the difficulty some countries face in sourcing energy from alternatives, and said such factors had to be balanced in foreign policy decisions, as per various media reports.
The comments followed US President Donald Trump’s waiver of several sanctions linked to Russian fuel sales that were due to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
Rubio said India had voluntarily diversified its energy portfolio but was still receiving a substantial amount of energy from Russia because shifting sources could not happen immediately. He also described India as an important ally and partner of the US, and said Washington needed time to assess the right combination of measures.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
