How Sergio Gor, Trump’s main man in Delhi, powered the India-US trade deal

At 9.16 pm local time, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor wrote on X, “President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. Stay tuned.”

Over an hour later, the US envoy once again took to the social media site, posting: “As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has limitless potential!”

The second post followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he agreed to a trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the US will lower tariffs on goods from India to 18 per cent.

In the subsequent hours, Gor, Trump’s trusted man, provided more details on the India-US trade deal, confirming that the punitive 25 per cent duty levied on India for its purchase of Russian oil would no longer apply.

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Speaking to CNN-News18 first, Gor said, "All the credit goes to President Trump and PM Modi. The two leaders have a great personal relationship, which has carried the deal forward. The number that will be finalised will be 18 per cent."

For many, the timing of the deal — it came after Gor arrived in New Delhi — is a sign of the envoy’s continuous efforts to accelerate negotiations, making him the “biggest difference”.

Credit for India-US trade deal goes to…

Soon after Trump’s huge announcement on Monday, many experts and analysts attributed the move to Gor’s untiring efforts to seal the deal.

Foreign policy analyst Michael Kugelman was among the first to credit Gor for the trade deal between India and the US. “Things have moved very fast since Sergio Gor arrived in Delhi,” Kugelman wrote on X. “We’ve seen lots of positive messaging, high-level engagements, and key breakthroughs. Gor, who has the ear of the president in a big way, appears to be the difference maker here.”

Sheela Bhatt, who is a seasoned Indian journalist, also noted the same. “A source in Washington who has been witness to the negotiations of India-US trade deal claims @USAmbIndia fast-forwarded many things. Sergio Gor was able to convey correctly India’s thinking to @realDonaldTrump. The issue of ‘oil trade’ was the trickiest, he claims,” she posted on X.

Former Indian diplomat Sadanand Dhume also noted Gor’s part in achieving the trade agreement. “Credit where credit is due: Negotiating an end to punitive US tariffs, and ending up with a better rate than competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, is a major diplomatic/economic win for the Modi government. Also a great start to @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor’s tenure in India.”

Capitol Hill veteran and commentator Anang Mittal also gave a thumbs-up to Sergio Gor. Speaking to news agency PTI, he said, “He is a close confidant of President Trump, and I think he made it clear that better relations with India were ahead.”

India Today’s Rohit Sharma also claimed that it was Gor’s arrival in India that changed the ties. He told the Indian media house, “Everybody that I have talked to is talking about how Ambassador Gor served as a catalyst.”

Gor’s arrival and upswing in India-US ties

But why is Ambassador Gor receiving credit for the India-US trade deal? That’s because ever since his arrival in New Delhi in early January, there’s been an upswing in the ties between the two nations.

When he arrived in the Indian capital, Gor vowed to help resolve differences that have badly strained ties between the two nations. “Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end,” Gor said in a speech to hundreds of embassy staff members, emphasising Trump’s “great friendship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sergio Gor arrived in India early this January to begin his tenure as US ambassador to India. Image Courtesy: @USAmbIndia/X

He further added that India was invited to join Pax Silica, a US initiative to build supply chains for artificial intelligence and other advanced technology, and described the countries’ ties as “the most consequential global partnership of this century.”

“No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each bringing strength, respect, and leadership to the table,” he added in his speech.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, in an Indian Express editorial, even noted at the time of Gor’s arrival, “Gor represents a new breed of diplomat — one less interested in the lofty platitudes of shared values and more focused on the hard arithmetic of shared interests. In the current climate, where diplomacy as traditionally understood has been supplanted by deal-making, Gor possesses the unique Trumpian currency: Direct access.”

And as Tharoor noted, Gor has always had Trump’s ear, and that may have facilitated a change in the US president’s stance on India. In fact, even the American leader alluded to this, describing Gor as “someone I can fully trust to deliver on my agenda”.

Gor’s close ties to Trump

Born Sergey Gorokhovsky in 1986 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he later changed his name to Sergio Gor. Initially, Gor lived in Malta before moving to the US in the 1990s, and in the following years, he became an American citizen.

A graduate of George Washington University with a degree in political science and international affairs, Gor began his political career working for US Senator Rand Paul. His major breakthrough came in 2020, when he joined Donald Trump’s re-election campaign as Chief of Staff of the Trump Victory Finance Committee, earning a reputation as a formidable fundraiser.

US President Donald Trump with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. The latter has previously served as Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House. File image/AFP

Even though Trump lost that election, Gor maintained close ties with Trump and his family. In collaboration with Donald Trump Jr, the US president’s son, Gor co-founded Winning Team Publishing, a conservative publishing company that released several books associated with the American leader.

Gor also worked as a fundraiser and an amateur DJ, including hosting and officiating events at Mar-a-Lago and private functions such as weddings. In 2022, Sergio Gor became a senior adviser to MAGA Inc and also took charge of the super PAC Right for America.

Such has been his proximity to the Trump family that he received the nickname ‘Mayor of Mar-a-Lago’. This proximity was evident when Trump appointed Gor as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in November 2024, and in August 2025, he was nominated as the US Ambassador to India and as Special Envoy for South and Central Asia.

With inputs from agencies