Donald Trump announced that a trade deal with India has been reached, where the U.S. will reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, while India has pledged to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases of U.S. products.
On Monday, 2 Feb 2026 GMT+7, President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that the U.S. and India have finalized a trade agreement and will immediately begin reducing customs tariffs between the two countries after lengthy negotiations.
Trump stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also agreed to purchase "at a much higher level" from the U.S. and promised to "stop buying oil from Russia and switch to buying from the U.S., including possibly increasing purchases from Venezuela."
Trump’s announcement said, “It is a great honor to have spoken with Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. He is one of my best friends and a powerful leader respected by his country. We discussed many topics including trade and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
“He agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and increase purchases from the United States, possibly also from Venezuela. This will help end the ongoing war in Ukraine, which is causing thousands of deaths every week!”
“With friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and at his request, we have reached an immediate trade agreement between the U.S. and India. The U.S. will reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%, and India will eliminate tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers on U.S. goods.”
“Furthermore, the Prime Minister has pledged to ‘buy American’ at a much higher level, beyond energy, technology, agriculture, coal, and other U.S. products valued over $500 billion. Our excellent relationship with India will grow even stronger in the future. Prime Minister Modi and I are two leaders who ‘get things done,’ which is rare. Thank you for your attention!”
Prime Minister Modi confirmed the tariff reductions by posting on X: “I am very pleased that ‘Made in India’ products will receive tariff benefits reduced to 18%. On behalf of 1.4 billion Indians, I sincerely thank President Trump for this excellent announcement.”
“When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks enormous opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.”
“President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his peace efforts. I intend to work closely with him to elevate our partnership to unprecedented levels,” Modi’s message stated.
Notably, Trump’s announcement came just one week after India secured a major free trade deal with the European Union, which Modi hailed as the “mother of all agreements.”
Some analysts predict that progress between Europe and India might “ignite” Delhi and Washington to accelerate their own bilateral agreement.
/foreign news updates:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:cnbc