US President Trump said the agreement was made “out of friendship and respect” for Prime Minister Modi and added that the deal would take effect immediately
According to US President Donald Trump, Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. File Pic/AFP
India and the United States have agreed a trade deal, US President Donald Trump said on Monday following a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported the PTI.
According to Trump, Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
In a post on social media, Trump claimed that India would also move to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against US goods to zero.
At the time of reporting, India had not issued an immediate reaction to the announcement.
Trump said the agreement was made “out of friendship and respect” for Prime Minister Modi and added that the deal would take effect immediately.
The US President said that PM Modi had committed to “buy American” at a significantly higher level. Trump also stated that India would purchase over USD 500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal and other goods.
Trump hails strong relationship with India
Trump described the US-India relationship as “amazing” and said it would grow even stronger going forward. He added that he and Modi were “two people that get things done”, a quality he said was rare
In a social media post, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said that Trump had spoken with Modi on Monday, adding, “President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. STAY TUNED.”
Congress questions communication
Responding to the development, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that the information appeared to have come from the US side rather than India.
He commented, “It seems that PM Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India.”
He added that this seemed to have become a regular occurrence, with India finding out about its government’s actions only through President Trump or his appointees, dubbing it “Trump-nirbharta”.
Diplomatic talks amid Jaishankar’s US visit
The telephone conversation took place on the same day that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began a three-day visit to Washington. The two countries have been working in recent weeks to resolve tensions and move forward on finalising the proposed bilateral trade deal.
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