Trump Announces Initial Trade Deal With India, Cutting Tariffs to 18%

The agreement was short on details, but President Trump said India had promised to stop buying Russian oil and would buy more U.S. products for a reduction on tariffs.President Trump, who has at times had a strained relationship with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, in his second term, on Monday described him as “one of my greatest friends.”Credit...Eric Lee/The New York TimesFeb. 2, 2026, 2:14 p.m. ETPresident Trump announced on Monday that the United States had reached a trade arrangement with India to roll back some of the punishing tariffs he had imposed on its products, in return for India’s dropping its tariffs on some American goods and ceasing its purchases of Russian oil.The agreement, which would take effect immediately, was announced by Mr. Trump in a social media post with few details besides the U.S. tariff falling to 18 percent.The arrangement defuses the tariff tensions that Mr. Trump had escalated against India last year, and cements a cozy relationship between Mr. Trump and India’s leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In a post on social media, Mr. Modi wrote that he was “delighted” by the tariff reduction but was similarly spare on details, including whether his country would stop buying Russian oil.“When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation,” he wrote. “President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.”Like most U.S. trading partners, India had been subject to steep tariffs in Mr. Trump’s punishing global trade war, which began last spring, though the president periodically adjusted those duties in the hopes of negotiating a deal. But the two sides had failed to clinch an agreement, leading Mr. Trump to settle on a 25 percent tariff on imports from India — a rate he doubled in August as a punishment for its continued purchase of Russian oil.Mr. Trump has urged many nations to halt their purchases of Russian oil to defund Moscow’s war chest against Ukraine.“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 percent to 18 percent,” Mr. Trump wrote. “They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO.”Among the topics that Mr. Trump said the two leaders discussed on Monday was ending the war in Ukraine. He said Mr. Modi would instead buy oil from America and “potentially” from Venezuela.Trump also said that Mr. Modi agreed to “‘BUY AMERICAN,’ at a much higher level,” which he said included “$500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products.”Mr. Trump, who has at times had a strained relationship with Mr. Modi in his second term, described him as “one of my greatest friends,” and praised himself and the prime minister as “two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most.”Alex Travelli and Ana Swanson contributed reporting.Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.Tony Romm is a reporter covering economic policy and the Trump administration for The Times, based in Washington.SKIP