India-U.S. ties: Jaishankar, Rubio hold phone talks on trade, defence cooperation

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, focusing on cooperation in areas of trade, critical minerals, nuclear energy and defence.

The Jaishankar-Rubio phone call came a day after newly-appointed U.S. ambassador Sergio Gor said there would be some contact between the two sides on the trade issue.

The External Affairs Minister said he had a “good conversation” with Mr. Rubio and that they agreed to remain in touch.

“Just concluded a good conversation with @SecRubio. Discussed trade, critical minerals, nuclear cooperation, defence and energy,” he said on social media.

“Agreed to remain in touch on these and other issues,” he added.

Recent downturn in ties

The India-U.S. ties witnessed a major downturn after President Donald Trump slapped a whopping 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25% punitive levy over Russian oil purchases.

Both sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations last year to firm up a bilateral trade deal. However, it could not be sealed yet largely in view of Washington’s demands to open up India’s farm and dairy sectors.

In an address at the U.S. embassy on Monday, Mr. Gor said India and the U.S. were actively engaged on the proposed trade deal.

“Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr. Gor also said that no country was as essential as India to the United States.

“No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each bringing strength, respect and leadership to the table,” he said.

Business with Iran

The phone conversation between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Rubio also came on a day Mr. Trump announced that a 25% tariff would be levied on countries doing business with Iran.

Sources in the Indian government said the new tariff was expected to have “minimal impact” on India as volume of trade between India and Iran was currently less than $2 billion.

For India, Iran does not even figure in the top 50 global trading partners, the sources said.

Last year, India’s trade with Iran was $1.6 billion, which is approximately 0.15% of India’s total trade, they said.