India-US trade deal announced, Tariffs sharply reduced 50 percent to 18 percent

India-US trade deal announced: US tariffs under the trade deal sharply reduced from 50 percent to 18 percent. 

Following his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump announced that he would reduce tariffs on goods from India from 25 percent to 18 percent.

The additional 25% tariff penalty imposed for Delhi's refusal to stop buying oil from Russia will be waived. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that India will reduce trade barriers to zero and stop buying Russian oil. 

The announcement comes less than a week after India and the European Union announced a landmark trade deal, culminating in two decades of negotiations.

In the post, Trump said that during a phone call with Modi this morning, discussions took place about trade and the Russia-Ukraine war.

"He agreed to stop buying Russian oil and buy more oil from the United States and Venezuela," Trump wrote.

Trump added that, at Modi's request, he had immediately agreed to a trade deal that would help reduce tariffs and reduce India's tariffs and non-tariff barriers to zero.

In addition, Trump said Modi had committed to buying more than $500 billion (£366 billion) of American goods, including energy, technology, agriculture and coal products.

Trade relations between the US and India have deteriorated since the US imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India in August - the highest for a country in Asia - which includes a 25% penalty related to India's purchase of Russian oil.

The White House confirmed that tariffs on Russian oil would be eliminated as part of the deal, while other tariffs would be reduced to 18%.

Modi tweeted that he was "delighted" to have reached an agreement with the United States.

Reinforcing something that has always been believed in New Delhi but has been seen as vague - the fact that the US sees India as an ally and a counterweight to China, as it seeks to rewrite the norms of the global trading order.