The U.S. president says that a deal was reached with India after Modi agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, although details are somewhat scarce.
United States President Donald Trump has announced what he described as a mutually beneficial trade deal with India. It was expected that this would reduce market barriers between the two countries. The two countries move with a combined gross domestic product of USD 33 trillion.
On Monday, 2 February 2026, Trump said he would reduce trade tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% after New Delhi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. This issue was one of the major sticking points between the two sides.
Trump shared that he reached an agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephone call. The agreement comes at the end of the first year of Trump’s global trade war. India had been one of the worst-affected casualties. It witnessed relations between the two countries fall to new lows in recent months.
On Tuesday, February 3, India’s commerce minister, Priyush Goyal, confirmed that the two countries would sign a deal shortly. He added that they would release a joint statement once they agreed on the final details. However, no further details were disclosed about the contents of the agreement.
Beyond Trump’s announcement about reduced tariffs on Indian goods, there was uncertainty about the future of U.S.-India trade relations. Trump claims that New Delhi has agreed to purchase oil from the U.S. instead. India has not publicly confirmed this.
Meanwhile, Trump claimed that Modi had agreed to eliminate Indian tariffs on U.S. goods. India has not yet confirmed this.
Subsequent announcements by Trump & Modi about the agreement that the 2 had also reached seemed to differ vastly. These views were cited by geopolitical observers and economists who shared them with Al Jazeera.
Modi was facing criticism at home following the announcement, which included a call to unpack what we know and what we don’t!
On Monday, 2 February, Trump shared on his Truth Social platform that he had spoken with Modi, addressing him as one of his greatest friends. This discussion included many issues, including ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Modi agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, said Trump. He added that instead of purchasing much more from the United States, it is likely to come from Venezuela.
Trump also stated that upon Modi’s request and upon friendship and respect for him, Washington agreed to a trade deal whereby the U.S. will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from a previous 25% to 18%.
White House officials were cited in the U.S. media confirming that the additional 25% tariffs levied on Indian goods last year as punishment for India’s purchase of Russian oil would also be dropped. Therefore, in total, that would reduce 50% tariffs to 18%.
In turn, India is expected to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO, said Trump.
Trump was quoted as adding that Modi had also committed to buying American at a much higher level. This was in addition to over USD 500 billion of U.S. energy, technology, agricultural products, and coal, besides many other products.
Trump asserted that he expected the U.S. relationship with India to grow even stronger in the future.
In Modi’s statement posted on X, he completely avoided mention of the trade deal. There was no agreement to cease purchasing Russian oil or a commitment to purchase USD 500bn worth of goods from the U.S.
Instead, Modi simply confirmed that products made in India would now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Modi also expressed his gratitude over the wonderful announcement.
Modi also hailed Trump by stating that President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity, citing that India was fully supporting his efforts for global peace.
