US President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent has eased pressure on Asia’s third-largest economy, though key details of the agreement remain unclear.

The tariffs had been raised last year over India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil, which Washington said was indirectly supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine.0

Following talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Trump said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the United States, claims New Delhi has not officially confirmed.

Modi, however, welcomed the announcement and said he hoped to take US–India relations to unprecedented levels.

The move has been welcomed by Indian industry, which had been hit hard by the higher duties, with analysts saying the reduced tariff restores India’s competitiveness with regional peers and strengthens its appeal as an alternative manufacturing hub to China.