New York/New Delhi, July 1 (UNI) India is hopeful of concluding a trade deal with the US very soon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said."We are in the middle, hopefully more than the middle, of a very intricate trade negotiation. Obviously, my hope would be that we bring it to a successful conclusion, I cannot guarantee, because there's another party to that discussion, but no question," Jaishankar said in an Exclusive Fireside Chat with Dev Pragad, Newsweek CEO.

"I believe it's possible, and I think we'll have to watch this space for the next few days," he said.US President Donald Trump has set a July 9 deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs.

Last week, President Trump announced that he has signed a trade deal with China and teased a new big deal with India.

"We have one coming up maybe with India. A very big one where we're going to open up India," Trump said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a news briefing on Monday that "they are finalising these agreements”.

The EAM's comments come as a trade delegation led by India's Chief Negotiator, Rajesh Agrawal, is in the US for negotiations.

Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the US intend to give preferential market access to businesses, even as both countries will continue working bilaterally to resolve issues like tariffs on aluminium and steel.

According to reports, an interim deal could be possible before the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has said that a trade deal between India and the US could be finalised soon.“I think we are in a very, very good place, and you should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not-too-distant future because I think we found a place that really works for both countries,” Lutnick said last month.

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