During his US visit, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar meets with Rubio and Basant, working to finalize trade deal!

Washington: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States. On Tuesday, he held important meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Basant and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The purpose of these meetings was to further strengthen the partnership between India and the US in the areas of trade, energy, nuclear cooperation, defense, critical minerals, and technology. Jaishankar’s three-day visit comes just a day after US President Donald Trump announced a major trade agreement with India following talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Under this agreement, the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods has been reduced from 25 percent to 18 percent, effective immediately. Jaishankar began his US visit with a meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Basant. This meeting is considered crucial for implementing the new economic agreement. The discussions between Basant and Jaishankar were described as a significant step towards finalizing the details of the trade agreement. After the meeting, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’ that there were useful discussions on advancing economic partnership and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Jaishankar holds strategic discussions with Rubio
Following this, Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He stated in a social media post that the discussions covered bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global issues. These included key pillars of the India-US strategic partnership such as trade, energy, nuclear cooperation, defense, critical minerals, and technology. Rubio also welcomed the meeting, saying that the focus of the discussions was on increasing cooperation in the field of critical minerals and opening up new economic opportunities. He described the India-US trade agreement as a significant step in bilateral relations.

Tariff Cuts Bring Relief to Indian Exporters
The reduction in reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US on India is expected to significantly benefit Indian exporters in sectors such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar described this trade agreement with the US as a step that will boost job creation, economic growth, and the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Cooperation on critical minerals was a key topic of discussion during Jaishankar’s meetings in Washington.