India, US continue to actively engage in trade talks: Sergio Gor

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor
| Photo Credit:
Srivatsan K C _11626

India and the US are continuing to actively engage in bilateral trade talks and are determined to get it across the finish line, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has said.

“Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade is tomorrow. Remember India is the world’s largest nation. It is not an easy task to get it across the finish line. But we are determined to get there,” Gor said in his address to the media on Monday after formally taking over charge in New Delhi.

Gor, who was sworn in as the Ambassador to India in November 2025, has taken over at a crucial time when there is lack of clarity over the fate of the India-US trade deal being negotiated.

Last week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the India-US trade deal did not happen last year because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak to US President Donald Trump about closing it.

“Let’s be clear, it’s his (President Trump’s) deal. Yeah, okay, he’s the closer. He does the deal. So I said, ‘You got to have (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi (call). It’s all set up. You have to have Modi call the president.’ They were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn’t call,” Lutnick said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the claims were “inaccurate”. The spokesperson said Modi had, in fact, spoken to Trump eight times in 2025 and on several occasions, India and the US came close to striking the trade deal.

With the US imposing 50 per cent tariffs on India, which includes a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil, it is increasingly important for India to strike a pact with the US.

Published on January 12, 2026