Sergio Gor, the US Ambassador to India, on Monday said Donald Trump's administration is "paying attention" to India, and highlighted the role of friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump for finalising the framework of the India-US interim trade agreement.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a conversation with Ambassador Sergio Gor at the reception hosted at the residence of the US Ambassador to India, in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI )Sergio Gor's comments came during a reception hosted at the residence of the US Ambassador in New Delhi on Monday.

Last week, Trump and PM Modi announced the long-awaited India-US trade deal, according to which President Trump will cut reciprocal tariffs on India to 18% from the current 25%. He also removed the other 25% tariff imposed on India over its energy purchase from Russia.

“I've been here just a little over a month, and we hit the ground running. The White House is paying attention to India,” news agency ANI quoted Gor as saying. He also thanked the friendship of President Trump with PM Modi, citing it as the reason “we were able to get the trade deal across eventually”.

The reception was attended by India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar, who thus interacted with Gor days after the conclusion of the India-US interim trade agreement framework.

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron and Ambassador of the European Union to India Hervé Delphin were present too.

At the reception, Piyush Goyal said that the trade deal would not have been possible without the support of Gor.

“Thank you very much, Sergio, for all that you have done to further strengthen this bond between the US and India,” Goyal reportedly said.

The commerce minister also talked about the T20 World Cup in which the USA team lost to Team India, calling the performance of the Americans “fabulous” nonetheless.

“Sergio pointed out one very important factor — the US lost the match by 18%. And a very humble request I made to him, as a suggestion, that if only you had made the reciprocal tariff zero, you would possibly have won the match,” Piyush Goyal was quoted as saying in jest.

The United States and India last week announced a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal, mutually beneficial trade, reaffirming their commitment to a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

The US said that as part of the framework, India has agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US agricultural and food products.

Thus, the United States will impose a reciprocal tariff of 18 per cent on goods originating in India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear.

Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered.Read More