India, March 26 -- India and the US are engaged in "active and intense" negotiations for a trade deal and the Trump administration has shown it is more open to forging a stronger partnership with New Delhi in crucial areas such as defence, energy and tech, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

Jaishankar, speaking at an event organised by Asia Society, said there is a "strong business case" for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US but declined to prejudge the outcome of ongoing talks between Indian negotiators and a visiting US team led by assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch. His comments came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's threat of imposing reciprocal tariffs from April 2.

Ack...