Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: President Donald Trump on Monday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announced on Truth Social a trade deal, which would lead to Washington, DC, lowering the reciprocal tariff on India from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, and New Delhi would abolish the tariffs and non-tariff barriers on imports from the United States.
Modi too took to the X to convey his “big thanks” to Trump for lowering the tariff on India’s imports to the US to 18 per cent. The prime minister, however, did not mention any trade deal in his post on the social media platform, unlike the US president.
Trump claimed that Modi had agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and to import hydrocarbons in larger quantities from the US, and potentially, Venezuela, instead. The prime minister also committed that India would buy energy, technology, coal, agricultural and many other products worth $500 billion from the US, he added.
“Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India,” Trump wrote on social media platform ‘Truth Social’.
He, however, did not clarify in his post whether Washington, D.C., would also withdraw the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on India’s exports to the US to persuade the South Asian nation to stop buying oil from Russia.
“Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement,” Modi posted on X. “When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.”
The prime minister also stated that the US president’s leadership was vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. “India fully supports his efforts for peace.”
“I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights,” he added.
Just a few days after Trump had returned as the 47th American president, Modi had met him at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 13, and the two leaders had agreed that India and the US would negotiate a trade deal. The relations between the two sides, however, came under stress, not only due to Trump’s tariff tirade against India, but also because of the US president’s bonhomie with the civil and military leaders of Pakistan and his repeated claims about brokering a truce to end the four-day cross-border military flare-up between the two South Asian nations in May 2025.
The breakthrough in the negotiations for the trade deal also remained elusive.