The deal will result in India charging a zero percent levy on American goods entering the country, according to the president.
The United States and India have reached a trade agreement and will begin lowering tariffs on each other’s goods immediately, President Donald Trump announced Monday.
As part of the deal, the United States will cut its reciprocal tariff rate from 25 percent to 18 percent, Trump wrote on Feb. 2 in a post on Truth Social. In exchange, he said, India has agreed to “move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States to ZERO.”
India has also committed to buy American goods “at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products,” Trump wrote.
If realized, that pledge would dramatically shift the trade balance between the two nations, where New Delhi has long maintained a surplus. In 2024, India ran a $45.8 billion trade surplus with the United States.
Trump added that India has agreed to “stop buying Russian oil,” a move he said would help end the war in Ukraine. Russia relies heavily on energy exports to fund the war, now approaching its fifth year, with India and China among the biggest buyers of Russian crude at steep discounts due to Western sanctions.
India also expressed interest to “buy much more” from Venezuela, according to Trump’s post. The South American country recently amended its hydrocarbons law to loosen state control over its oil sector and attract more foreign investment to develop the world’s largest known oil reserves.
The U.S.–India trade deal, which had stalled last year, was finalized after a Feb. 2 phone call between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that covered trade and the war in Ukraine, according to the president. He described Modi as “one of my greatest friends, and a powerful and respected leader.”
“Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward,” Trump wrote. “Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most.”
Modi said he was “delighted” by the agreement and likewise referred to Trump as his “great friend,” adding that New Delhi endorses Washington’s peace agenda.
“India fully supports his efforts for peace,” Modi wrote in a post on X.
By Bill Pan
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