India-US trade deal: President Donald Trump spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and announced that the United States and India have agreed to a trade deal. Trump added that Washington would reduce mutual tariffs from 25% to 18%.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also confirmed the call with Trump and thanked him for the tariff reduction.
“It is wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. I am pleased that Made in India products will now have a reduced duty of 18%,” PM Modi said.
What did Trump say about PM Modi?
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “It was an honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country.”
Trump added that “Prime Minister Modi and he are two people who DO THINGS, which cannot be said for most”.
The President also added that US relations with India will be even stronger in the future.
What did Trump discuss with PM Modi?
“We talked about many things, including trade and ending the war with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to buy much more from the United States and potentially from Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine that is going on right now and thousands of people are dying every week,” the US president added in the post.
Trump on India-US trade deal
Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and at his request, Trump added: “Effective immediately, we have agreed to a US-India Trade Agreement under which the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, bringing it down from 25% to 18%. It will also move to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers to the United States to ZERO.”
Prime Minister Modi praises Trump
“It is wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. I am delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. A big thank you to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi said cooperation between the two major economies and the world’s largest democracies brings benefits to their citizens and creates significant opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. He also praised Trump’s leadership, which he described as essential for global peace, stability and prosperity, and said that India fully supports his efforts to promote peace.
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“I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights,” said PM Modi.
Meanwhile, Trump said PM Modi has also pledged to buy more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural and other goods. Trump also mentioned that New Delhi had agreed to end purchases of Russian oil and instead increase energy imports from the United States and possibly Venezuela.
Read also | Trump announced the India-US trade deal after speaking to Prime Minister Modi
Timeline: Key developments
The US has imposed a 25% “reciprocal duty” on several Indian imports as part of Trump’s “Liberation Day” global tariff initiative.
April 10, 2025 – Trump announces a 90-day pause on new tariffs while maintaining the base 10% tariff on all US imports.
July 31, 2025 – Trump announces a 25% tariff on all Indian goods and warns of further sanctions if India continues to buy Russian oil.
August 7, 2025 – Trump raises tariffs on Indian goods supplied to the US to 50%, citing continued purchases of Russian oil in India. This marked the highest tariff imposed on any US trading partner.
