India, U.S. trade deal to be much different: Donald Trump

The U.S. and India are “pretty close” to making a trade deal, which will be much different than the earlier pacts, U.S. President Donald Trump said in Washington.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday (October 20, 2026), Mr. Trump said India and the U.S. were pretty close to making a trade deal.

“They want to make a deal. We're going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah,” Mr. Trump said in response to a question.

“It’s going to be a much different kind of deal than we've done," the President said.

Mr. Trump’s remarks came at a time Secretary of State Marco Rubio was visiting India and discussed further strengthening bilateral relations focussing on sectors such as trade, energy, technology, defence and people-to-people ties.

Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Milwaukee and Washington to discuss the finer aspects of the trade deal.

India and the U.S in February announced the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA). However, changes in the tariff landscape in the U.S. have led to further negotiations on the pact.