Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio was the first since President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports. Rubio shared on X, “Pleased to meet with @SecRubio this morning in KL. Good to US India trade talks about our bilateral relationship as well as regional and global issues.” Jaishankar recently updated ASEAN chair and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, conveying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s best wishes for a successful summit. He stated on social media, “Honoured to meet Prime Minister @anwaribrahim of Malaysia. Conveyed the best wishes of Prime Minister @narendramodi for a successful ASEAN Summit,” accompanied by photos from the meeting. This dialogue with Rubio occurs amid escalating trade tensions affecting India-US relations.
Earlier this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that India would not rush into trade agreements or accept terms detrimental to its interests. “India will not compromise on our principles when it comes to trade. Our approach has always been to foster long-term partnerships and sustainable business models rather than short-term transactions,” Goyal asserted. He highlighted the importance of building long-term trust and cooperation, stating, “It’s not just short-term deals like we would want steel to be exported to the US.
It is more about long-term trust-building and long-term cooperation that we are after.” In his address at the 13th UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments in Abu Dhabi, Goyal remarked that discussions with the US Assistant USTR were “constructive and moving in the right direction.”