Finally, an agreement was reached between Washington and Delhi. This agreement covers the fields of trade and energy.
According to the agreement, the US will reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 18 percent. US President Donald Trump announced this on his "Truth Social" account. Trump wrote that he spoke by phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reached an agreement.
The two leaders exchanged views not only on the trade agreement but also on the Russia-Ukraine war. This issue is important for Trump because the White House does not want the host India to buy cheap oil from Russia.
According to Donald Trump, India will no longer buy oil from Russia and will purchase more oil from the US and, as a possible option, from Venezuela. If India fulfills this promise, it will further increase Russia's problems.
According to the US President, Delhi's decision not to buy oil from Russia will help bring an end to the war in Ukraine, where thousands of people die every week. Trump also stated that according to the agreement with Modi, both sides will take steps in the future to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers applied against the US to “zero.”
Trump wrote that Delhi has fulfilled another of Washington’s wishes. According to him, India has committed to purchase more than 500 billion dollars in total from the US, including energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and other goods.
Negotiations on trade between Washington and Delhi had continued since Trump was elected President. Delhi reached a trade agreement with Brussels before Washington. Thus, India seeks not to fall behind China in developing its economy and increasing exports.
Meanwhile, it has not escaped the attention of observers that the Indian government has allocated 85.5 billion dollars for military expenditures in the budget for 2026-2027. Within these expenditures, India plans to pay more attention to the production of military equipment and the protection of borders.
It appears that India's decision to increase military spending is related to the growing military power of its neighbor China. Within this framework, India plans both to expand its own military-industrial complex and to increase the purchase of military equipment from the US and European countries. The trade agreement reached between Washington and Delhi may also stimulate military-technical cooperation between the two countries.
Elkhan Shahinoglu,
political analyst
