United States President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. has reached an agreement with India to slash tariffs on each other's goods.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. would reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and buy American.
“We agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%,” Trump said.
“(India) will likewise move forward to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO.
“This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week.”
Following the call, Modi also agreed to buy American at a much larger level, including over US$500 billion of U.S. energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other products.
“I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights,” Modi said.
The deal is set to take effect without delay, but the text of the deal has yet to materialise and it is unclear if anything has been signed.
This comes as legal experts and Democrats have questioned whether Trump can make any binding trade agreement without congressional approval.
Trade talks between Trump and Modi hit a number of sticking points last year, including New Delhi’s reliance on Russian oil.
To deter India from buying Russian oil, Trump slapped a 25% reciprocal tariff on India last August, on top of an already existing 25% reciprocal levy on India’s U.S.-bound goods that took effect earlier that month.
