Signs of a thaw between the two economies emerged after Donald Trump called Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on his birthday last September. File photograph: Harish Tyagi/European Pressphoto AgencyThe US will reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent after prime minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. In October, a similar announcement from Trump claimed Modi agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil but Indian refiners continued to buy crude from Moscow. In his Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said Modi had also agreed to potentially buy more oil from Venezuela. Indian Oil Corp., the country’s largest refiner, could add Venezuelan crude to its diet, an executive at the state-owned firm said last week.

Source: The Irish Times February 02, 2026 23:33 UTC