Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for striking a deal with the U.S. to reduce tariffs on Indian goods<\/b>
\nIndian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for striking a deal with the U.S. that seeks to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, while the opposition raised questions on the impact on sensitive sectors such as agriculture.
President Donald Trump on Monday announced he plans to reduce import tariff on India, six months after imposing steep taxes to punish New Delhi for its unabated purchase of Russian oil that he claimed helped fuel Moscow\u2019s war machine against Ukraine.
In a social media post, Trump said Modi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, though the Indian government remained tight-lipped if this was the case.
Trump said he would bring down the tariffs from 25% to 18% in return for India agreeing to stop Russian crude purchases. New Delhi will also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products, Trump said.
\u201cThis will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.
Modi posted on X that he was \u201cdelighted\u201d by the announced tariff reduction and that Trump\u2019s \u201cleadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.\u201d There has been no word beyond this from the Indian side on the scale and scope of the trade deal.
Trump didn\u2019t categorically mention if he will remove the additional 25% tariff on India for purchase of Russian crude, but a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi late Monday confirmed that \u201cthe final tariff will be 18%.\u201d
This effectively means that the penal tariff will be dropped, in a respite for Indian exporters who had been facing the heat due to a combined steep tariff as high as 50%.
India emerged as the second-largest buyer of discounted Urals, upsetting Washington. India has previously stated that its energy purchases were guided by market conditions and needs of 1.4 billion people but never made it clear if it will reduce or stop Russian purchases.
Opposition political parties are demanding Modi come clear on the trade deal as it will impact sensitive sectors such as agriculture. They disrupted the proceedings at the lower house, which was adjourned for the day.
While the U.S. has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has in the past opposed throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country\u2019s population.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooker Rollings on X thanked Trump for taking care of American farmers, saying the deal will help export more American farm products to India\u2019s massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America.
In 2024, U.S. agriculture trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion.
A senior official at India\u2019s Finance Ministry, Arvind Shrivastava, said Tuesday that the trade deal will \u201cfurther expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world.\u201d
He said it will create more opportunities for India\u2019s labor-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the U.S. market and give impetus to mutually beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors.
An Indian trade analyst, Ajay Srivastava, cautioned India shouldn\u2019t rush to celebrate Trump\u2019s trade announcement.
What products are covered, what the timelines are and whether India has agreed to zero tariffs and zero nontariff barriers, especially in sensitive areas like agriculture, needs to be clarified, he added.
Reaching $500 billion worth of imports of American goods would require at least two decades as the present imports are just about $50 billion, Srivastava said.<\/p>\n