Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Rubio to meet today amid tariff, H-1B visa concerns

The high-level meeting will take place in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Updated on: Sep 22, 2025, 10:10:30 IST

By HT News Desk

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York today.

Rubio and Jaishankar last met in Washington in early July, and in January earlier this year. (Reuters)

The high-level meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the session of United Nations General Assembly, is an effort to advance the recent improvement in India US ties, people aware of the matter said.

They further stated that meeting would be a continuation in the efforts to improve relations between the two countries and bridge divides which propped up in recent months.

Rubio and Jaishankar last met in Washington in early July, and in January earlier this year.

However, this meeting would be the first in-person one between the two leaders, since the ties between India and US faced tensions over trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Trump said the 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 per cent additional duties, were on account of the purchase of Russian oil.

Relations between the two countries have since improved, following a diplomatic turnaround. Both sides also resumed stalled trade talks, with Trump expressing confidence that they would face “no difficulty” in reaching an agreement.

The meeting comes even as commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal leads a delegation for trade talks with the US on Monday.

“The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

The crucial talks between Jaishankar and Rubio also come amid concerns over Trump administration's recent decision to increase in the H-1B visa fee. New applications for H-1B visa will now require a $100,000 fee after the proclamation signed by Trump. The new visa fee caused chaos among tech companies and employees in its immediate aftermath.

White House later clarified that it was a one-time fee, and that it would only be levied on new petitions, thus exempting current visa holders.

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