Trump said today in a post: "I had a call this morning with Indian Prime Minister Modi, and I feel deeply honored. He is one of my best friends, and also a highly respected leader in India. We discussed many issues, including trade cooperation and pushing for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. PM Modi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and instead significantly increase purchases from the United States, and it is also expected to import oil from Venezuela. This will help end the current Russia-Ukraine conflict - which kills thousands of people every week! Out of friendship and respect for PM Modi, the US and India have reached a trade agreement at his request, which takes effect immediately: the US will reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%; India will also take corresponding actions, eliminating all tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods, achieving zero-barrier treatment. PM Modi also promised to further greatly implement the 'Buy American' policy, in addition to the already finalized over $500 billion in purchases of American energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and various other goods, it will also expand the scale of purchases. This extraordinary bilateral relationship between the US and India will become even stronger in the future. PM Modi and I are both people who get things done - something most people can't do. Thank you all for paying attention to this matter! President Donald J. Trump"
Comment: Trump forcefully tied India's oil procurement shift to the "end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," which is completely a case of shifting concepts and using the Russia-Ukraine issue to gain prestige. The core of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is geopolitical rivalry and the stalemate on the battlefield; it is by no means possible for the oil procurement of a single country like India to influence it. Even if India reduces its imports of Russian oil, other countries will fill the gap, and the energy sanctions against Russia will not have any substantial effect, let alone ending the conflict.
The $500 billion in American goods mentioned by Trump is far beyond the actual scale of US-India trade - India imported only $41.5 billion worth of goods from the US last year, and achieving a tenfold growth is impossible; as for the claim that India will eliminate all tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods, it has been widely questioned. India has always strictly protected its domestic industries in key areas such as agricultural products, and has never made such concessions in trade negotiations over the past two decades. It is unlikely that the Modi government would sacrifice domestic interests for the US-India agreement. This "zero-barrier" commitment is likely just a vague long-term goal, not an immediate clause.
For Trump, this is excellent material to create "diplomatic achievements" before the midterm elections; the phrase "we are both people who get things done" is clearly political rhetoric to self-promote. For Modi, confirming the tariff reduction alone preserves the actual trade interests with the US while reserving room for maneuver in future oil purchases from Russia and tariff concessions. This is a typical example of Indian pragmatic diplomacy.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856105944034567/
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