PM Modi reviews bilateral progress with Trump; vows to work for global peace

Hinting at a further normalisation of India-US relations since the United States imposed heavy tariffs on India in August 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he and the US President reviewed the progress made in bilateral ties and also discussed regional and global developments.

“Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump. We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the U.S. will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi said via X today.

PM Modi’s comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump last month confirmed that tariffs on India will be reduced soon, and the much-touted trade deal between India and the U.S. is on the anvil. 

“Right now, the tariffs are very high on India because of the Russian oil, and they have stopped doing the Russian oil… It’s being reduced very substantially. We will bring the tariffs down at some point,” Trump said during the swearing-in ceremony of Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India and special envoy to Central and South Asia.

Currently, India faces a total tariff rate of 50%, of which 25% are reciprocal tariffs. This was followed by the Trump administration imposing an additional 25% tariff as retribution for India’s imports of Russian oil—one of the highest tariff rates in the world.

Describing his equation with PM Modi, Trump earlier said that he has a fantastic relationship with Prime Minister Modi. “It’s a very important relationship, but it’s also the fastest-growing middle class, and an important economic and strategic security partner in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.

The U.S. President had also confirmed that his administration is close to reaching a consensus on a strategically important trade deal. “We are getting a fair deal, just a fair trade deal…We are making a deal with India, a much different deal than we had in the past,” he said, adding that “we are getting close.”

In October, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said that trade talks between India and the U.S. were progressing and a “fair and equitable deal” was likely to be worked out in the near future. “We are in dialogue with the United States of America. Our teams are engaged. We recently had the Commerce Secretary visit the U.S., and he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them, and the talks are progressing,” Goyal said, exemplifying the congenial nature of the negotiations.