US-India trade talks set to resume this week – new envoy

New Delhi and Washington are bound by a relationship anchored at the highest level, Sergio Gor has said

Talks between India and the US on a trade deal will resume on Tuesday, the American ambassador-designate to New Delhi has said.

New Delhi and Washington have held several rounds of discussions to reach a trade deal after the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on India, half of it as a punitive measure for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.

The South Asian nation will also be invited to join Pax Silica next month, Sergio Gor said, referring to a US-led initiative to build a silicon supply chain from critical minerals to semiconductors and AI, Reuters reported.

“Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow,” Gor said in New Delhi on Monday, adding that the two countries will continue to work on issues such as security, counterterrorism, energy, technology, education, and health.

#WATCH | Delhi: After assuming charge as the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor says, "... No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each… pic.twitter.com/0qY9AgRoHw

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2026

“The United States and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest level,” Gor said, adding that “real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end.”

Gor’s statement comes after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed last week that a trade deal did not materialize because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not heed Washington’s demand to call the US president to finalize it.

Trump has said he supports a bipartisan bill in Congress that would authorize him to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia’s trade partners.

New Delhi signed three trade deals, with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand, in 2025. India is also pursuing trade pacts with a dozen other countries or trading blocs, including the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is in India on a two-day visit, said on Monday that he hopes an EU free trade agreement with New Delhi can be signed at a summit later this month.

After talks with Merz, Modi said Berlin is New Delhi’s most important trading partner in the EU.