India-US Trade Deal To Lift Prices, Pump Cash Into Rural America, Says US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins

(MENAFN- Live Mint) India-US Trade Deal: US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday (local time) thanked President Donald Trump for“delivering” for American farmers through the just-announced India-US trade deal.

The deal will help export more American farm products to India's massive market, lift prices, and pump cash into rural America, Rollins said in a post on X.

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Her remarks came after Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that he had agreed to a trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under which the US will lower tariffs on goods from India to 18% from 25%.

“In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India's growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today's deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit,” Rollins said in the poxt on X.

'America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for agriculture,' she said.

Earlier, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said India will reduce trade barriers to zero and will also stop buying Russian oil. He added that the US will drop the additional 25% tariff penalty imposed on Delhi for its refusal to stop buying oil from Russia.

This deal will go a long way to reducing America's agricultural trade deficit with India.

The announcement comes less than a week after India and the European Union (EU) sealed a landmark trade deal that capped nearly two decades of on-and-off talks.

PM Modi said on X that he is "delighted" that an agreement with the US has been reached.

India-US trade ties had been strained since the US imposed 50% tariffs on goods from India - the highest for a country in Asia - in August last year. The Trump administration also imposed a 25% penalty linked to India's purchase of Russian oil.

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After the deal, the US will drop the Russian oil-linked tariffs as part of the agreement, and reciprocal tariffs will be lowered to 18%, a White House official told the BBC.

Modi thanked Trump on behalf of India's 1.4 billion people for the“wonderful” announcement.

"When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," he said.

(With agency inputs)

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