Sign up here.The US and India have been edging closer for years. Washington sees India as a key regional counterweight against a more assertive China, while for New Delhi, the US has become an increasingly important source of foreign investment and a partner for trade and security.

United States President Donald Trump said he expected to wrap up trade deals with US partners looking for lower tariffs in the next three or four weeks. Trump disclosed this in his first ‘100 days’ interview with Time magazine,

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he expects India to strike the first bilateral trade deal to avoid President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, according to the New York Post. A 26 per cent ‘reciprocal’ tariff on Indian exports to the US is currently on a pause set to expire on July 8.