The US-India trade deal is in its "final steps", with only the last one per cent of negotiations left to be concluded, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Tuesday, expressing confidence that the deal would soon be sealed.
Addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, Gor said he was determined to agree as it would be beneficial to both nations, and it would be sealed after nearly 18 months of talks.
"We are in the final steps on this deal. Most of this deal is complete. There are a few items that remain on both sides. It's in the last 1 per cent of that deal," he said.
The US envoy to India was bullish about the bilateral relationship and cited the personal equation between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was driving the ties.
"People ask, Why is this taking so long? We've been at this for a year and a half. To put it into perspective, the European trade deal took 20 years. So no matter what, as long as we beat the European deal, I think we're in good shape. But I'm determined to bring this to a close," he said.
The US envoy said the President has very fond memories of his visit to India and still continues to talk about it.
"His (Trump's) visit last time was one of the most remarkable visits that he continues to talk about. He holds it in a very fond place. It's an incredible thing. So, I look forward to having the President visit us back in India," Gor said.
The ambassador also announced that the Quad foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in the Philippines in about two weeks from now.
He added that the agreement would provide greater certainty for businesses engaged in bilateral trade.
"It's also a deal that, frankly, for a lot of individuals in this room, brings stability. For those of you that trade bilaterally, it's something that's incredibly useful and helpful," Gor said.
The ambassador said both governments had maintained an intensive pace of negotiations in recent weeks, citing multiple high-level exchanges between trade officials.
"As I mentioned, the trade deal, we're close to getting it done through very active negotiations. I mean, pretty much the last three weeks we've had travels back and forth. Minister Goyal was in New York... followed by Ambassador Greer in Delhi right afterwards," he said.
Gor said bilateral trade had already expanded dramatically over the past two decades and was poised for another leap.
"Over the past two decades, our bilateral trade has increased from USD 20 billion to USD 220 billion. That's an incredible job, and it's also something that we're gonna take to a much higher level," he said.
He pointed to the ambitious target announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase bilateral trade to USD 500 billion.
"What President Trump and Prime Minister Modi announced as a bilateral trade goal of USD 500 billion over the next few years, that's an astounding number that is unmatched," Gor said.
"We are ready to do so much with India. India exports more to the United States than anywhere else by far," Gor added.
He also dismissed the row over the renaming of the Indo-Pacific Command, saying the "name on the letterhead" does not matter rather look at what America is actually doing.
Gor’s remarks came in the wake of a row over dropping ‘Indo’ from the Indo-Pacific Command. Established in 1947, the US Pacific Command is among the oldest unified commands of the US that extends from the west coast of the US to India’s western border.
During US President Donald Trump’s first term, the Pacific Command was renamed as Indo-Pacific Command, citing the growing importance of India in the Indo-Pacific region. Earlier, this month the US restored the original name of the unified command.
"I just want to mention something because a lot of individuals made hay over a name change. I don't care what name is on a letterhead, but look at what the United States is actually doing," Gor said.
"Yes, the name changed; we're still there. India still has more exercises with the United States than any other country by far. Every single month there's something happening, whether it's Indian troops coming here or whether it's US troops going into the region," the US envoy said.
He said in the next two weeks, a delegation of the Indian Navy will be visiting the US.
Gor also rejected suggestions that bilateral ties had weakened, Gor said the overall relationship remained on a strong footing.
"So to all those pundits that sit online and tweet and say, this relationship is in trouble, when you look at the facts of where this relationship stands, whether it's trade, whether it's defence, whether it's the people to people ties, the relationship is on strong footing," he said.
Gor said President Trump attached significant importance to ties with India and remained committed to expanding cooperation across trade, technology, defence and investment.
The US envoy to India recalled an incident when Trump decided to call Modi from Miami, where he was attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.
"It was a couple months ago... with the president at UFC in Miami and we're sitting backstage and he said to me, 'Let's call the Prime Minister'," Gor said.
"I said, 'Sir, it's 6:00 AM in the morning there (India).' "He said, 'He(Modi) will be up. He (Modi) is like me'," Gor said, recalling Trump’s remarks.
Gor said by the time he managed to speak to a few people in New Delhi, Trump was already on the UFC stage and eventually the call with Modi was scheduled for the following day.
Gor said the incident showcased the nature of the relationship between Trump and Prime Minister Modi.
"The louder message of that story is when you're friends with somebody, not everything has to be scheduled," Gor said, adding that the president truly considers the Prime Minister a friend.
"His years with the Prime Minister go back to his first term. There's warm memories of India. And so that's an incredible benefit," he said.
"The United States wants to work hand in hand with India," Gor said, adding that the next two years would be critical in shaping bilateral ties for decades to come.