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Donald Trump said the US would lower its tariffs on India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil.

The US president said he spoke with Modi on Monday and had discussed “many things”, including trade and ending the war in Ukraine.

“Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday.

The president said India would reduce their “Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers” on the US to zero.

Trump said in his post that Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and would instead “buy much more” from the US “and, potentially, Venezuela”.

The Trump administration slapped punitive tariffs on India In late August over its purchases of discounted Russian oil, dealing a blow to the world’s fastest-growing large economy and deepening a rift between Washington and New Delhi.

The 25 per cent levy came on top of Trump’s 25 per cent “reciprocal” tariff, raising duties on India to 50 per cent, among the highest levels in the world and almost double those on south-east Asian countries.

This is a developing story