[🇮🇳] India-USA friendship

[Saif]

Trump cuts India tariffs, says Modi will stop buying Russian oil

Tariff on Indian goods to be cut to 18%, he says

www.thedailystar.net

Trump cuts India tariffs, says Modi will stop buying Russian oil
Tariff on Indian goods to be cut to 18%, he says

AFP File Photo

US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.

Trump said he was cutting tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent. He had previously levied 25 percent reciprocal tariffs, plus an additional 25 percent for New Delhi's purchases of Moscow's oil.

Modi said Monday he had a "wonderful" phone call with Trump and thanked him for reducing levies on Indian products -- but made no reference to Trump's assertion about halting Russian oil purchases.

India's refusal to stop buying oil from Russia -- which Washington says funds Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- has been a bone of contention for months as Trump seeks an elusive end to the war.

"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 said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump said that the United States would lower the reciprocal tariff imposed on India during his waves of global "Liberation Day" tariffs last year from 25 percent to 18 percent.

A White House official told AFP that an additional 25 percent tariff Trump had slapped on India for its purchase of Russian oil in August would also be dropped.

Trump added that Modi "agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine."

The United States is effectively overseeing Venezuelan oil exports since toppling the South American country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a military operation in January.

'Greatest friends'

Trump called Modi "one of my greatest friends" and said they spoke about "many things" including trade and ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Modi was one of the first leaders to visit the White House after Trump's inauguration for his second term in January 2025, but that did not stop difficult trade negotiations over the past year.

Russian oil has been the major hurdle.

As recently as December, Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to New Delhi that he was ready to continue "uninterrupted shipments" of fuel to India despite US pressure.

Trump also said in October that Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil, but an agreement did not materialize at the time.

"Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 percent," Modi said in a post on X on Monday.

The Indian leader however made no mention of oil sales.

India emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil after the start of the Ukraine war, providing Moscow with a crucial export market as Europe sharply reduced purchases.

In 2024, Russia supplied nearly 36 percent of India's total crude imports, around 1.8 million barrels of discounted oil per day.

Modi added however that "President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity."

Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending the brief but intense armed conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan in May.​

 

[Saif]

US, India unveil interim trade framework, move closer to broad pact

The framework reaffirms a commitment to negotiations toward a broader bilateral trade agreement, the two governments said in a joint statement.

en.prothomalo.com

US, India unveil interim trade framework, move closer to broad pact

ReutersWashington/New Delhi
Published: 07 Feb 2026, 08: 47

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, US, 13 February 2025. Reuters

The United States and India moved closer to a trade pact on Friday, releasing an interim framework that would lower tariffs, reshape energy ties and deepen economic cooperation as both countries seek to realign global supply chains.

The framework reaffirms a commitment to negotiations toward a broader bilateral trade agreement, the two governments said in a joint statement, while noting that further negotiations were needed to complete the pact.

US President Donald Trump announced a deal with India on Monday to cut US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent in exchange for India halting purchases of Russian oil and lowering trade barriers.

Half of the 50 per cent rate had been imposed separately by Trump as punishment for India's purchases of Russian oil, which he said were fuelling Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. Trump signed an executive order on Friday rescinding that 25 per cent portion after India agreed this week to shift its oil buying to the U.S. and Venezuela.

However, the statement indicated that New Delhi resisted Washington’s push to broadly open its agricultural market.

Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said in a social media post on X the agreement safeguards farmers’ interests and rural livelihoods by “completely protecting sensitive agricultural and dairy products,” including staples such as maize, wheat and rice, as well as soya, poultry, milk products, ethanol, tobacco and some vegetables and meat.

India’s opposition Congress party, however, said the trade deal was concluded largely on U.S. terms and hurt farmers and traders, calling it a pact that compromised national interests.

New details on tariff reductions

Friday's joint statement, opens new tab provides additional details compared with initial outlines of the trade deal revealed by Trump on Monday.

It confirms that India will purchase $500 billion in U.S. goods over a five-year period, including oil, gas, coking coal, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, and technology products. The last category includes graphics processing units, typically used for AI applications, and other goods used in data centers.

It said India would eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of U.S. food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains and red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits.

US to keep 18pc tariff

But the deal will apply an 18 per cent tariff rate on most imports to the U.S. from India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products and certain machinery.

India will get the same tariff relief granted to other allied countries that have signed trade deals with the United States on certain aircraft and aircraft parts, and will receive a quota for auto parts imports that will be subject to a lower tariff rate, according to the statement.

Depending on the results of the Trump administration's tariff investigation into pharmaceuticals and their ingredients, "India will receive negotiated outcomes with respect to generic pharmaceuticals and ingredients," the statement said.

Goyal hailed the framework agreement as opening a market worth $30 trillion - the U.S. annual GDP - to Indian exporters, especially farmers, fishermen, and micro and small-to-medium enterprises.

Goyal had said on Thursday that Washington and New Delhi aimed to sign a formal trade agreement in March, after which India's tariff cuts on U.S. exports would go into effect.

Accepting US standards

India also agreed to address longstanding non-tariff barriers on imports of agriculture products, medical devices and communications gear, with negotiations to be completed within six months on an agreement to accept US or international safety and licensing standards for product imports.

The US affirmed that it intends to consider India's requests for lower tariffs on Indian goods during further negotiations of the bilateral trade agreement. The two sides also agreed to cooperate on enforcement of export controls on sensitive technologies and take actions to address "non-market policies of third parties," a reference to China.

The United States and India have struggled for years to conclude a full trade deal, with disputes spanning agriculture, digital trade, medical devices and market access. But strategic concerns — including competition with China, supply-chain diversification and energy security — have injected new urgency into talks, officials in both countries say.​

 

[Saif]

India farmers protest US trade deal

Farmers rallied across India on Thursday to oppose a trade deal with Washington which reduces tariffs on US goods, warning that it would hurt Indian agriculture and endanger livelihoods...

www.newagebd.net

India farmers protest US trade deal
Agence France-Presse . New Delhi 12 February, 2026, 22:40

Farmers and trade union workers shout slogans during a nationwide strike over government policies and other issues in Amritsar on Thursday. | AFP photo

Farmers rallied across India on Thursday to oppose a trade deal with Washington which reduces tariffs on US goods, warning that it would hurt Indian agriculture and endanger livelihoods.

Farmer unions have called the deal announced last week a ‘total surrender’ to American agricultural giants, despite assurances from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Waving flags and carrying banners, farmers and trade union members rallied in several cities, with minor scuffles with police reported in a few locations.

According to images shared by organisers, several thousand people took to the streets.

Main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said he stood with the ‘farmers and with their struggle’.

‘Farmers are apprehensive that trade agreements will strike a blow to their livelihood,’ he said in a social media post.

Under the terms of the trade deal, India will ‘eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods’ and other food and agricultural products.

The United States will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 per cent on goods from India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, and certain machinery.

Modi’s government has sought to allay farmers’ concerns, insisting sensitive agricultural products, dairy and poultry have been kept out of the ambit of the deal.

The agricultural sector helps sustain over 45 per cent of people in India, the world’s most populous nation, making it an influential voting bloc with formidable street power.

But individual farms are small and often unproductive, and successive Indian governments have historically intervened to protect them from foreign competition.

The protests on Thursday revived memories of months of demonstrations in 2020 and 2021, during which farmers blocked New Delhi highways and stormed the capital’s historic Red Fort complex by tractors.

That wave of protest forced the government to roll back laws aimed at reforming the sector.​