India-US trade deal: PM Modi 'delighted' after Trump cuts tariffs on 'Made in India products' to 18%

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked ⁠US President Donald Trump after reciprocal tariffs on India ‌were reduced to 18%.

"Delighted ‍that Made in India products ‌will now have a reduced tariff of 18%," Modi said in ‍a post on X, ‍adding ⁠that ⁠he looked forward to working closely with the US President.

Read more: US India Trade Deal: Washington to cut tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18%


"Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," said the PM.

President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," added PM Modi.

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What did Trump say?

Trump has said that India will move forward to reduce "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," the US president said on social media.

India will "likewise move forward to reduce their tariffs and non tariff barriers against the United States, to zero", he said.

Trump said Modi also committed to "buy American" at a much higher level, in addition to over USD 500 billion dollars of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal, and many other products.

"Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that get things done something that cannot be said for most," he said.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a bruising trade dispute that saw US tariffs on Indian exports surge as high as 50% last year - tariffs that Washington linked to New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian crude oil.

The cutting of tariffs comes as EAM Jaishankar will be in the United States over a meeting with US officials over critical minerals.

Union Minister for Trade and Commerce Piyush Goyal had said on Friday that the two countries working toward closing the deal quickly.

"Every free trade agreement stands on its own legs. And we are having very good negotiations. My counterpart in the US and I have a very wonderful working relationship and a wonderful personal friendship. We are working towards closing the deal quickly," Goyal told PTI in an interview.

Big trade deals

The announced tariff reduction comes days after India and the European Union reached a free trade agreement that could affect as many as 2 billion people after nearly two decades of negotiations. That deal would enable free trade on almost all goods between the EU’s 27 members and India, covering everything from textiles to medicines, and bringing down high import taxes for European wine and cars.

The deal between two of the world’s biggest markets came as Washington targets both the Asian powerhouse and the EU bloc with steep import tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.

In recent months, India has accelerated a push to finalize several trade agreements. It signed a deal with Oman in December and concluded talks for a deal with New Zealand.