India, US to hold trade talks this week in Washington, source says

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India and the United States are set to hold trade talks this week, with New Delhi pledging to import U.S. energy and gas as it aims to address Washington's concerns over its Russian oil purchases, an official said. Talks were suspended briefly in August after the Trump administration announced tariff hikes of up to 50% on Indian goods, accusing India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by continuing to buy Moscow's oil despite western sanctions. However, discussions resumed in September after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone in public remarks and spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the phone, raising hopes for a breakthrough. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said India was looking to increase purchases of energy and gas from the U.S. Indian officials held "constructive" talks with U.S. counterparts during a visit to Washington last month, the government said, and both sides agreed to continue discussions aimed at concluding a mutually beneficial trade deal soon. Negotiations between the two countries began in February 2025, targeting a deal to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. The two sides have held five rounds of trade talks, with the sixth postponed in August following tariff escalations. The official said both countries expect to sign the first tranche of the deal by next month, as initially agreed by Trump and Modi. (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Kate Mayberry)

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