Overview

• India said talks will continue after Sept 22–24 meetings with USTR Jamieson Greer, with negotiators calling discussions productive.
• Washington has tied tariff relief to meaningful cuts in Russian crude buying, and US officials said structured talks could yield progress within weeks.
• The 50% US duty — a 25% reciprocal rate plus a 25% penalty linked to Russian oil — remains in force as the core hurdle to a near-term deal.
• New Delhi signalled it could expand purchases of US energy and deepen cooperation across oil, LNG and nuclear, while US officials kept H‑1B visa policy separate from trade.
• India’s Foreign Ministry rejected as factually incorrect NATO chief Mark Rutte’s claim that PM Modi phoned Vladimir Putin over the tariffs.