US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday rejected a media report that claimed India had rejected a 'quick trade agreement' with the United States, aiming for a 'better deal'. Gor called it a 'fake news', while reaffirming that the two sides are committed to finalising a trade deal and remain engaged with each other.
"Fake news alert! No one has rejected anything," Gor said on X (formerly Twitter). "Both sides had very constructive meetings and reaffirmed their commitment to finalizing a trade deal. We continue to stay actively engaged. Reuters - you can do better!"
Gor's reaction comes hours after Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also rejected the media report, calling it "completely false, baseless and misleading". Quoting the report on X, Goyal he said the Indian and American teams remain fully engaged in achieving the trade deal.
"I had fantastic meetings with USTR Jamieson Greer, @USTradeRep, when he visited Delhi in June," Goyal said. "Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an agreement that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers in both countries."
The India-US trade pact
Negotiations remain underway between New Delhi and Washington for the trade agreement, but a report by Reuters earlier claimed that India rejected a "quick trade agreement" with the US in recent talks and was "holding out for a better deal".
According to Indian officials, the framework deal is ready and it will be signed at the right time. They also said under the pact, India is aiming for a comparative advantage over the competitor countries on the tariff front. Last month, Goyal also held talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in this regard.
Indian officials have also clarified that there is no dissension and there is no challenge around it.
"So there is no negativity or any sort of differences between India and the US. Both sides know each other's expectations, both sides know what is coming in the framework deal, and both sides know what is beyond the framework deal that is being negotiated between the two sides," they told news agency PTI.
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