Kathrine Frich
The deal was revealed after a call between the two leaders.
A new trade agreement between Washington and New Delhi has been announced amid claims it could reshape global energy flows.
In the call they discussed linking tariff cuts with changes in India’s oil imports.
While the announcement was welcomed by both sides, some of its key elements remain disputed or unconfirmed by Indian officials.
Deal announcement
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States had reached a trade agreement with India, following talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the deal included a reduction in US customs duties on Indian imports from 25% to 18%.
According to Trump, the discussions covered trade and efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He claimed that Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, a move Trump said “will help end the war in Ukraine.”
The US president added that India would instead buy more oil from the United States and “potentially from Venezuela.”
Energy commitments
Trump said India had also committed to removing both tariff and non-tariff barriers on US imports, aiming to reduce them to zero.
He claimed New Delhi would increase purchases of American agricultural, energy and technology products to a value exceeding $500 billion.
India is among the world’s largest buyers of Russian oil. Washington had previously imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports because of these purchases, on top of existing duties. Trump said those penalties would be lifted under the new agreement.
On Saturday, Trump had separately announced that India would begin buying oil from Venezuela, following US actions against the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Modi response
Prime Minister Modi welcomed the announcement in a post on social media platform X.
“A big ‘thank you’ to President Trump, on behalf of the 1.4 billion Indian citizens, for this wonderful announcement,” he wrote.
Modi said he was pleased that Indian-made products would face an 18% customs duty in the US.
He added that cooperation between “two major economies and the world’s largest democracies” would create new opportunities.
“President Trump’s leadership is essential for global peace, stability and prosperity,” Modi wrote, adding that India supported his peace efforts.
Open questions
Beyond welcoming the tariff reduction, Modi did not confirm Trump’s claim that India would stop buying Russian oil.
He also did not provide further details on specific trade or energy commitments.
As a result, it remains unclear how and when the proposed changes to India’s oil imports would be implemented.
Sources: AFP, Reuters, Digi24
