India Trade Talks Hit a Plateau. Patience Is Strength, Not Failure
New Delhi says further give-and-take would be "very, very difficult," and Greer says a deal is not imminent. In our view, America should keep negotiating from strength until the terms are fair.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 5, 2026 | 6-min read India's finance minister said on Monday what both governments had been hinting at for weeks. Trade talks with the United States, Nirmala Sitharaman said, have reached a plateau, and further give and take would be "very, very difficult" [1]. Days earlier, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said a deal was not "imminent" [2]. To some, that sounds like failure. In our view, it sounds like a real negotiation, and America is negotiating from strength. The right move now is patience, not panic. Key Takeaways Sitharaman said on Oct. 5 that the talks, which both sides have pursued since February 2025, had hit a plateau, though negotiations are continuing [1]. Greer said Washington has "identified the universe of items that are sticking points," while India's commerce minister spoke of an "early conclusion" of an interim deal [2]. America bought $103.8 billion in goods from India in 2025 and sold it $45.4 billion, a deficit of $58.4 billion, according to the Census Bureau [3]. India is a vital partner, a fast-growing market and a democratic counterweight to China. That is exactly why the terms matter. A trade deal with India will shape American jobs and farm exports for years. It is worth getting right rather than getting fast. Where the Talks Stand Reuters reports that Sitharaman described the agreement as "hard and very vigorously negotiated" and said talks were continuing [1]. She also acknowledged the core American concern: the trade balance favors India. "They would want to reduce that imbalance," she said [1]. On the American side, Greer told the Indian news agency ANI, "I don't think there is something imminent," adding that "we truly have identified the universe of items that are sticking points" [2]. He described a phone call between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "very constructive" [2]. India's commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, struck a more u…