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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

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State Department · Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Rubio says a U.S.-India trade deal is very close

The File desk · Oct. 21, 2026, 6:40 a.m. ET

Confirmed1 primary sources

Status

Confirmed as Secretary Rubio's remarks in Mumbai on Oct. 20, 2026, from the State Department transcript re-opened for this edition. Deal terms and a signing date are not in the transcript.
  • Confirmed
    Rubio said the United States and India are “very, very close” to a trade agreement and that a small number of items remain.
  • Confirmed
    He said he spoke with President Zelenskyy for 45 minutes and that the President has ordered no change to intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Mumbai on Tuesday that the United States and India are “very, very close” to a trade agreement. In the same remarks he said he had just spoken for 45 minutes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that President Trump has ordered no cut in intelligence sharing.1
On Ukraine, he said, “I spoke to him today. We had a 45-minute conversation.” He said reporting that weapons help or intelligence sharing had been cut was not accurate. “The President made it very clear he's ordered no such changes.” He also said, “So there's nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine.” He described shortages of air-defense interceptors as a matter of global demand, including U.S. needs, not as a decision to withhold them. This story does not treat a news report he was answering as a fact of its own.1
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. India is one of the largest U.S. trading partners, so a deal would set tariffs on goods Americans buy. Rubio did not say what those tariffs would be. On Ukraine, the secretary's point was that a shortage of interceptors is not the same thing as a policy to cut help.1
The transcript is from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Rubio said the State Department does not negotiate trade agreements, and that “we're about as close as you can be without (inaudible) agreement.” He said a small number of items remain and that he hopes to have news “fairly soon.” He did not list the terms or a signing date.1
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.State Department, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press,” Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai, October 20, 2026. Re-opened for this edition. https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-19/ “We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without (inaudible) agreement.” “I spoke to him today. We had a 45-minute conversation.” “The President made it very clear he's ordered no such changes.” “So there's nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine.” A separate Mumbai transcript dated Oct. 21 was not used for the trade or Zelenskyy sentences. https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-20/

What is still unknown or disputed

  • The terms of a trade deal, and any signing date.
  • A U.S. trade representative's statement was not opened.
  • The inaudible word in “without (inaudible) agreement” is printed that way in the transcript.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Secretary Rubio remarks to the press in Mumbai

    U.S. Department of State · October 20, 2026

    We're very, very close. I would say we're about as close as you can be without (inaudible) agreement. I spoke to him today. We had a 45-minute conversation.

    https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-19/

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