NEW DELHI: Following months of friction, the United States and India have announced a trade accord, with President Donald Trump stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “agreed” to cease purchases of Russian oil. In August, Trump accused India, which imports the majority of its crude oil, of backing Moscow’s war in Ukraine and imposed a combined tariff rate of around 50% on most exports.
Following a call with Modi on Monday, Trump resorted to social media to announce that US taxes on Indian goods would be reduced to 18 percent with immediate effect after Modi “agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela.
At the same time, Trump stated that India will “reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States, to ZERO,” vowing to buy “over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal, and many other products.
Modi announced the agreement on social media, saying: “Made in India products will now have an 18 percent tariff reduction,” but did not mention Russian oil or duty-free imports of American goods. When the United States imposed punitive tariffs last year, India promptly began free trade negotiations with other nations, sealing an agreement with Oman and finalising talks with New Zealand and the EU.
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