U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday a reduction in customs duties on imports of goods from India, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop purchasing oil from Russia, writes LETA, citing DPA.
Trump mentioned on his Truth Social platform the so-called "reciprocal tariff," which will be reduced for India from 25% to 18%.
According to Trump, customs duties are a tool to compensate for the imbalance and unfavorable position of the United States in international trade.
In turn, it is claimed that Modi promised in a phone call to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers for American products to zero, as well as significantly increase purchases of goods from the U.S. — including energy, technology, and agricultural products — totaling over $500 billion.
Trump called this a "trade deal" and added that India will no longer purchase oil from Russia.
Modi "agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and buy much more from the United States and potentially from Venezuela," Trump wrote. "This will help put an end to the war in Ukraine, which is ongoing right now and in which thousands of people are dying every week!"
Back in October, Trump stated that Modi assured him of stopping the purchase of Russian oil. At that time, India expressed its readiness to increase imports of energy resources from the U.S., but did not provide a clear answer on whether it would stop purchasing oil from Russia.
This time, Modi also expressed satisfaction regarding the tariff reduction on the X platform, but again did not give a clear answer on whether India would completely stop importing oil from Russia.
