Trump cuts tariffs on India to 18 pc, calls PM Modi ‘greatest friend’
President Donald Trump on Monday, February 2, announced to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the decision was taken “out of friendship and respect” for PM Modi and would take effect immediately. He added that India had agreed to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero.
“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, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent,” Trump wrote, describing Modi as one of his “greatest friends” and said both leaders were “two people that get things done.”
The US President further claimed that India had agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and would instead buy energy from the United States and “potentially Venezuela,” a move he said “would help end the war in Ukraine.”
He also said India would purchase more than USD 500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural and other products, and had committed to “Buy American” at a higher level.
Prime Minister Modi welcomed the announcement, thanking Trump for the tariff reduction. “Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent,” Modi said in a post on X.
The announcement comes a day after India presented its Union Budget 2026.
India-US relations had strained after Washington imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including an additional levy linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil.
