The Japan Times - Marco Rubio Travels to India as Trade Talks Reach Difficult Stage

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is travelling to India for talks combining diplomacy and commerce after a stop in Uzbekistan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels to India on Tuesday for his second official visit this year, on an Asian tour blending diplomacy and trade. After a stop in Uzbekistan, where he called for stronger partnerships with Central Asian countries, Rubio will hold talks in Mumbai with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and meet business leaders.

Rubio visited New Delhi and Kolkata in May, when he also toured the Taj Mahal and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No meeting with Modi is planned this time. Rubio will also visit Jamnagar in the western state of Gujarat, a port and stronghold of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance conglomerate, among them its refinery, the world’s largest. He is also projected to lay a wreath in memory of the 166 people killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The visit comes as the two countries struggle to finalize a trade deal that has caused repeated tensions. Washington and New Delhi were “very close” to an agreement, it was stated in Samarkand on Monday, but the chances of sealing one during this visit appeared slim. US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, launched in April last year, has also stated to friction over India’s imports of Russian oil and warming US ties with Pakistan, India’s arch-rival.

Asked about temporary US sanctions waivers for Russian oil, of which India is a major importer, Rubio stated Washington had to weigh several factors, “among them our bilateral relationships with other countries and what they realistically are capable of being able to do in terms of their own energy supplies”. “You also can’t unravel the economy of other countries because of one central issue,” he stated.

The two countries reached an interim trade agreement in February to reduce US tariffs on Indian goods, but days later the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, creating uncertainty over when the deal would take effect. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this month described the talks as having reached “a plateau, beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult”.

H.Hayashi--JT