‘Moment of hiccups’: Trump’s India pick Sergio Gor expects trade breakthrough in weeks

Trade tensions may be high, but the U.S. and India are “not that far apart” on tariffs, said Sergio Gor, President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to India, during a Senate hearing that signaled a warming shift in tone between the two countries.

Gor, a senior Trump aide and current director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that he expects tariff disputes to be resolved “in the next few weeks,” despite ongoing friction over India’s imports of Russian oil and market access barriers.

In a rare show of priority, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a surprise appearance to personally introduce Gor, calling India “one of the top relationships the United States has in the world today.”

Trump’s escalating tariffs — now at 50% on Indian goods — were imposed after New Delhi expanded purchases of discounted Russian crude. The White House views these imports as undercutting its global efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Trade talks had previously stalled, particularly over U.S. demands for India to open its dairy and agriculture markets. But Gor struck an optimistic note. “While we might have our moment of hiccups right now, we are on the track of resolving that,” he said, adding that bilateral ties “extend many more decades” and remain stronger than India’s relationship with China.

Gor, who was also named special envoy for South and Central Asia, declined to confirm the exact date of a planned Quad summit in November but said Trump is “fully committed” to meeting with Quad partners — India, Japan, and Australia — later this year.

Senator Bill Hagerty, former ambassador to Japan, emphasized the strategic weight of the appointment. “There are few relationships that are as critical for our national security or economics,” he said, endorsing Gor’s nomination.

The ambassadorial hearing moved faster than usual, underscoring Trump’s push to stabilize U.S.-India ties ahead of key trade decisions and strategic summits.