US President Donald Trump announced a reduced reciprocal tariff on India from 25% to 18% after holding a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. According to Trump’s Truth Social post, India’s trade deal with the US is “effective immediately”.
Trump detailed his conversation with PM Modi, saying that the latter had agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and instead would purchase much more from the US and Venezuela.
“This will help end the war in Ukraine, which is taking place right now with thousands of people dying each and every day,” Trump said, calling PM Modi one of his “greatest friends”.
India to reduce tariff barriers on US to zero: Trump
Trump in his post remarked that India has agreed to reduce its tariffs and non tariff barriers against the US to zero. “The Prime Minister also committed to ‘buy American’ at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 billion dollars of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward,” Trump wrote. Markets reacted positively to the news with GIFT Nifty jumping over 800 points after the news broke out.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 2, 2026
Following Trump’s post, PM Modi wrote on X, “Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement.” The PM added, “President Trump’s leadership is 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.”
What about additional tariffs on India?
Though both PM Modi and Trump did not mention of the additional tariff in their posts but Reuters reported a White House official as saying that US is also dropping the punitive tariffs imposed because of India buying oil from Russia.
This came after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor took to social media platform X, informing that US President Donald Trump has spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gor’s remark came an hour after Trump shared posts on Truth Social in connection to India and PM Modi. The US President posted a photo of the India Gate. “India’s beautiful Triumphal Arch. Ours will be the greatest of them all!”
In another, Trump shared a picture of both PM Modi and him on a magazine cover, which had called them “newsmakers of the year 2025.”
This comes even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began a three-day visit to the US. India-US ties had taken a downturn after the US President imposed 50% tariffs on India last year, including an additional 25% on account of its purchase of Russian oil.
Trump’s announcement also came one week after India closed a major free trade agreement with the European Union, which Modi touted as the “mother of all deals.”
Some analysts had predicted that the progress between Europe and India could “light a fire” under Delhi and Washington in their pursuit of a bilateral deal, CNBC reported.