Among other things, India will have to stop purchasing Russian oil

On February 2, US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with India that reduces US tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% in exchange for India stopping purchases of Russian oil and reducing trade barriers, Reuters reports.

Trump announced the agreement on social media after a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He noted that India will now purchase oil from the United States and possibly Venezuela.

The basic US tariff rate on goods from India will be reduced from 25% to 18%. The White House also confirmed that the additional 25% penalty duty on this country for purchasing Russian oil will be abolished.

As Trump noted, Modi also pledged that India would “buy American at a much higher level” in addition to purchasing American energy products, including coal, as well as technological, agricultural, and other products worth more than $500 billion. The country, according to the US president’s announcement, will also reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods to zero.

Modi confirmed the new tariff rate of 18% in his post on X. However, CNBC notes that the lack of details and clear deadlines raises doubts about how quickly the framework agreement can be made binding.

Recall that in January, the US president abandoned plans to impose additional tariffs on imports from the UK and a number of EU member states due to their position on Greenland. Earlier, the European Parliament officially suspended the ratification process for a trade agreement with the United States in protest against Trump’s threats. The EU also considered far-reaching countermeasures, including tariffs worth €93 billion in response to his statements.