India-US trade deal timeline: From ‘tariff king' taunts to 18% reciprocal duty cut – tracking the 12-month journey

India-US trade deal concludes nearly 12 months of tense negotiations, coming just days after the announcement of the India-EU trade deal. The pact makes a sharp reduction in American tariffs on Indian goods, fixing reciprocal duties at 18%.

US President Donald Trump had repeatedly referred to India as the “tariff king”, arguing that American companies such as Harley-Davidson struggled in India because of high import duties. Against this backdrop, India moved to address US concerns by slashing duties on more than two dozen items in the Union Budget, The Indian Express reported.

A trade deal that took months to make came after India addressed several US demands in Budget 2026-27, reported The Indian Express.

Here is a look at the timeline of events:

• On 3 April 2025, the United States announced 27% “reciprocal” tariffs on Indian goods. A United States Trade Representative (USTR) report on trade barriers criticised India’s high applied tariffs on a wide range of products.
• On 9 April 2025, Washington paused the implementation of the ‘liberation day’ country-specific reciprocal tariffs for 90 days country-specific reciprocal tariffs, except for China.
• On 10 May 2025, India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire following days of high-level military escalation along the border as a fallout of "Operation Sindoor" launched on 7 May. However, Trump claimed that the two nations arrived at a truce after the US used tariff leverage.
• On 7 August 2025, Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50% after India resisted American demands for greater agricultural market access.
• On 1 February 2026, in the Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a series of customs duty cuts on more than two dozen items, addressing several US concerns.
• On 2 February 2026, Trump and Modi announced the commencement of bilateral trade agreement negotiations and indicated that a settlement would appear by the year's end.
• On 2 February 2026, at 9:16 pm (IST), US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor posted an update on social media confirming the pact.
• On 2 February 2026, late evening, Trump published a lengthy post on Truth Social, declaring that the US “effective immediately” lowered reciprocal tariffs on India to 18% from 50% by reducing tariffs and doing away with the punitive tariffs over Russian oil purchases. Trump claimed India agreed to stop buying Russian oil and pledged to purchase $500 billion worth of US energy, agriculture, coal and other products under the trade deal.

Trump wrote: “It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This agreement comes after most of the world, including China, arrived at a trade deal with the US (sic)."

• Almost two hours later, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded on X: “Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement.”
  

Making the groundbreaking deal public, Modi added, “When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.”