The newly appointed US ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday said India and the US remain actively engaged on the long-awaited trade agreement. “Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow. Remember, it is the world's largest nation; So it's not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there,” Gor said in his first address after assuming charge as the new US ambassador in New Delhi. 

Notably, the US and India will hold another round of trade negotiations on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to draw New Delhi into Pax Silica, a US-led strategic alliance aimed at countering China’s dominance in semiconductors, critical minerals and AI infrastructure. 

US is India’s largest trading partner 

The US continued to be India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024–25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. However, India’s exports to the US have faced pressure in the current fiscal year due to sharp rise in tariffs imposed by Washington. 

Commerce ministry data shows exports initially remained resilient despite a 10% duty, rising from $8.4 billion in April to $8.8 billion in May, before easing slightly in June and July. The impact became more pronounced in August, when exports fell to $6.8 billion as tariffs were raised in quick stages to 50% by the end of the month. In September, the first full month under the higher tariffs, exports dropped further to $5.5 billion, the lowest level this year. 

Exports recovered gradually in the following months, touching $6.3 billion in October and $6.9 billion in November, indicating that exporters were adjusting to the higher duties. India’s overall goods exports rose to $38.13 billion in November 2025, the highest for the month in the past decade. 

Progress on trade had earlier gathered pace in December. On 9 December 2025, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the US Senate that India had made the “best offer the US has ever received”. His deputy, Rick Switzer, met commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal a day later to advance negotiations. 

Beyond trade, Gor said the two countries will continue close cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, energy technology, education and health. He also detailed the Pax Silica initiative. "I also want to share with you today a new initiative that the United States launched just last month. Called Pax silica. Pax silica is a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous and innovation-driven silicon supply chain. From critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing semiconductors, AI development, and logistics," he said. 

Noting that Japan, South Korea, the UK, and Israel joined the initiative last month, Gor said, “Today, I'm pleased to announce that India will be invited to join this group of nations as a full member next month.” 

He stressed the importance of Indo-US ties, saying, “No partner is more essential than India,” while adding that the partnership could become the most consequential of this century. 

Market sees a rebound after Sergio Gor’s comments 

Notably, Indian stock markets ended higher on Monday after a late recovery. According to analysts, sentiment improved in the second half of the session on positive global signals after comments by the new US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. He spoke about continued engagement between the two countries and confirmed fresh trade discussions scheduled for Tuesday, January 13. 

Earlier in the day, markets were under pressure due to trade-related concerns. The Sensex had fallen by as much as 715 points, and the Nifty briefly slipped below the 25,500 level. The Sensex rose 301.93 points, or 0.36%, to close at 83,878.17 while the Nifty50 gained 106.95 points, or 0.42%, to settle at 25,790.25.