Rubio says Trump visit to India could come early next year

Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is working toward a presidential visit to India early next year, and that trade negotiators are in the “last inches” of completion on a bilateral deal.

Rubio told IANS he will travel to India later this year to prepare for the visit. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met June 17 at the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, after a stretch of friction over tariffs, Russian oil purchases and U.S. ties with Pakistan.

Trump called his conversation with Modi “very good” and described the Indian leader as a “tough negotiator.” He also said he would go to India “sometime in the future.”

Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States met in New Delhi on May 26. The grouping had been expected to hold a leaders’ summit in India last year, but it never materialized amid tariff tensions and other disputes.

On February 9, Trump and Modi reached a framework for an interim agreement after a call the previous week. The United States would cut its reciprocal tariff on India from 25% to 18%, while India would eliminate or reduce tariffs on a broad range of American industrial and agricultural goods and commit to buying more U.S. products, including over $500 billion in energy, ICT, coal and other goods.

The talks remained active last week, when U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer traveled to New Delhi from June 22 to 24 for meetings with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and other officials. Indian and U.S. officials reviewed progress on the proposed bilateral trade agreement during that visit.

The relationship has been strained. The United States imposed high tariffs on Indian goods, while tensions also rose over India’s purchases of Russian oil, Washington’s engagement with Pakistan and the killing of three Indian sailors in attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf. During the June 17 meeting, Modi told Trump that the safety of Indian seafarers working in the Strait of Hormuz region was of utmost importance, and Trump said the United States would defend India if it were attacked.

Trump and Modi launched the broader trade negotiations on February 13, 2025. If the visit happens, it would be Trump’s first trip to India since 2020.