"Both sides actively engaged on trade deal, determined to cross finish line," US Ambassador designate to India Sergio Gor

New Delhi [India], January 12 : The United States Ambassador-Designate to India, Sergio Gor, on Monday said that the India-US trade deal negotiations were ongoing and that a call between the two sides on the deal was scheduled for Tuesday.

"Both sides continue to actively engage for the ongoing trade deal negotiations. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow (Tuesday)," he said

"India is the world's largest nation. So it's not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there and while trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas such as security, counter-terrorism, energy, technology, education, and health," he added.

On December 10, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal expressed optimism about ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, stating that discussions are "progressing well" towards a bilateral trade agreement.

Goyal said, "All agreements have many diversified angles. Many dots have been connected."

The talks have progressed substantially, though the original target of completing the first tranche by fall 2025 was delayed due to new developments in US trade policy, including tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on Indian goods.

India has already signed 14 Free Trade Agreements and six Preferential Trade Agreements with trading partners and is currently negotiating FTAs with several countries, including the European Union.

In an important announcement, Sergio Gor also said India will be invited to join the US-led PaxSilica group of nations as a full member next month.

"While trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas such as security, counter-terrorism, energy, technology, education, and health. I also want to share with you today a new initiative that the United States launched just last month called PaxSilica. PaxSilica is a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain," he said.

Pax Silica is a U.S.-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chainfrom critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics.

Gor added that it was critical for both nations to work together as the world continues to adopt new technology.

"As the world adopts new technology, it is essential that India and the United States work hand in hand from the very start of this initiative. I thank the people of India for a very warm welcome. You are a resilient people. You are innovative. You are spiritual. I look forward to meeting many of you as I travel across this incredible nation. To the staff here at the embassy, I'm excited to work with you. You and I have an incredible once in a lifetime opportunity to redefine diplomacy. What it can accomplish could be the most consequential global partnership of this century," he said.

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