India-US Trade Deal To Be Finalised In 'Next Few Months'? Trump's 'Priority' At G20 And A Hint From US Envoy Sergio Gor

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be at the top of President Donald Trump's list of leaders to meet at the G20 Summit.

The US will be hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida, at the Trump National Doral Miami resort from December 14 to 15, 2026.

When asked about PM Modi's visit to the US for the G20 meeting, Gor told India Today in an exclusive interview that "there'll be more to that visit than just a group meeting."

"As it relates to the G20, I don't have any specific announcements for you, but I will say, because the president considers the prime minister a friend, I do anticipate that there'll be more to that visit than just a group meeting," Gor said.

He added, "...if you had to ask the president - hey, you have 35 people coming, who do you want to see? The prime minister would be at the top of that list."

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On key bilateral moments or side engagements expected at the G20 in December, Gor said, "Minister [Piyush] Goyal is one of my favorites, but so is Dr. Jaishankar...As long as my friend Prime Minister Modi is there, India will be able to rely on the United States."

Sergio Gor also signalled the possibility of Trump returning to India next year, saying the President continued to recall his 2020 visit "fondly."

“Every single time I speak to him, he remembers very fondly the incredible visit that he had here, the incredible people he met and, of course, his dear friend, the Prime Minister,” he said.

"Stay tuned, that's all I can say...next year we'll here before you know it, Gor added.

India-US trade deal 'progressing'

On the proposed India-US trade agreement, Gor said negotiations were being reworked following a US Supreme Court ruling, but indicated that the two sides remained close to reaching a deal.

"The trade deal is progressing...We had announced a trade deal. The Supreme Court unfortunately struck down one of the laws in the United States, and so we've had to go back and rewrite a lot of that and so that is being rebuilt," Gor said.

Gor said he hoped the agreement would be finalised within the next few months, stressing that negotiations of such scale often took time.

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He said, "I am fully confident that we will get a trade deal across the finish line and so, in the next few weeks and next few months, hopefully we're able to finalise this trade deal."

The US envoy added that the trade deal is beneficial for both sides. "Both sides realize that, and that's something that we'll be able to move on in the very near future," Gor said.

Earlier, in February this year, the US Supreme Court struck down the reciprocal tariff imposed by the Donald Trump administration on its trading partners.

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The bench upheld a lower court's decision that the Republican president's use of this 1977 law exceeded his authority. The conservative-majority high court ruled six-three in the judgment, noting that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act "does not authorise the President to impose tariffs."

Hours later, US President Donald Trump signed off on a 10% global tariff on all countries. The 10% universal global tariff was enacted under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, following the Supreme Court ruling that struck down his previous emergency-powers (IEEPA) duties.

In May, in a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York ruled that the 10% tariffs were unlawful, as reported by Associated Press.

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