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US and India end frosty relations, will Russia be "excluded"?
2026-02-04 23:15:48 / BOTA
The latest news from Washington can be seen everywhere in India: the US and India have reached a historic trade agreement.
Only a short time after the agreement with the EU, surprisingly quickly, and perhaps not coincidentally, an agreement was reached between them.
The agreement was announced in typical Trump fashion, on Truth Social, the American President's platform.
Donald Trump announced that the US will significantly reduce tariffs on Indian goods: from 50 percent to 18 percent. A previously imposed punitive tariff of 25 percent will be eliminated completely, according to White House sources.
The US imposed the tariff because India continued to buy cheap Russian oil and gas despite Western sanctions. An additional, general tariff will also be reduced from 25 percent to 18 percent.
Cold relations between the US and India
The relationship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump was considered to have cooled significantly recently.
Drastic US tariffs had strained relations and a deal seemed less likely. But now there is no talk of a chill in the American camp.
Instead, US Ambassador Sergio Gor highlighted the personal closeness between the two leaders on India's NDTV news channel.
"I have always said that the Prime Minister and the President share a close friendship. Some did not believe it, but this friendship has grown over many years, has continued and is ultimately the reason why this agreement was reached," Gor said.
Import ban as leverage against Russia?
Friendship alone apparently does not explain the deal. As Trump stated, Modi had previously agreed to no longer import oil from Russia.
US Ambassador Gore declined to comment on the details of the agreement. Suffice it to say that both sides have long agreed on the desire to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The Prime Minister also wants to see peace there, as does the President,” Gor emphasized. Therefore, the agreement now reached is a cause for celebration. Gor added: “To better understand, I want to remind you that it took the European Union and India 19 years to negotiate their agreement.”
However, experts consider it unlikely that India would immediately stop all purchases of crude oil from Russia.
In a reaction on the X platform, Prime Minister Modi expressed his satisfaction with the tariff cuts. He has not yet commented on the details of the purchase of Russian oil. India's Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, said the agreement will create closer ties between the two economies and create unprecedented opportunities for Indian companies.
According to US President Trump, India is committing to reducing import tariffs on US goods to zero and importing products worth $500 billion.
For financial market expert Arvind Sanger, the trade pact has long-term implications: "In recent years, India has been reluctant to take the risk of entering into free trade agreements. Just a few months ago, the country was barely present in many international trade agreements," he explains.
Now India has opened up significantly more – “with the EU, with the UK and now again with the US. From a long-term perspective, this is of great importance.”
Just over a week ago, the EU and India reached a broad agreement that eliminates tariffs on almost all goods. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it the "mother of all deals."/ DW
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