Image Credit: Win McNamee / Staff / Getty 
On Monday President Donald Trump spoke with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi about two major geopolitical issues – trade and war. Notably, India is a key member of the multinational bloc BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). As outlined in the White House’s National Security Strategy, Trump’s agenda to curb Chinese expansion entails deepening U.S. economic ties with India.
Specifically, the President got Modi to agree to stop buying Russian oil and switch over to purchasing U.S. and perhaps Venezuelan oil. This will increase revenue for the U.S. while decreasing revenue for Russia (a key BRICS member state).
Trump also spoke to Modi about the Ukraine war, announcing that India switching to U.S. oil from Russian oil will help end the conflict. It should be noted however that Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky has stood in the way of peace, not Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Trump himself.
Trump’s statement read:
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 will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to “BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Modi also detailed his conversation with Trump, saying that he was delighted with the commerce developments and even proclaiming that Trump is vital for global peace:
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. When two large economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump’s leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights.
Trump spoke about the possibility of India buying Venezuelan oil over the weekend, saying that a framework for that has already been drafted up.
“We’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday.
Trump says India will be buying Venezuela's oil as 'opposed' to Iran oil. "We've already made that deal" pic.twitter.com/x3lqAvTPoI
— Siddhant Mishra (@siddhantvm) February 1, 2026
Monday’s development indicates that one of Trump’s foreign policy agendas is now getting implemented – deepening economic ties with India to prohibit domination by an adversary (Russia/China).
“We must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security, including through continued quadrilateral cooperation with Australia, Japan, and the United States (‘the Quad’). Moreover, we will also work to align the actions of our allies and partners with our joint interest in preventing domination by any single competitor nation,” the White House National Security Strategy said on page 21.
India actually began reducing its Russian oil purchases in January, indicating Washington may have already been negotiating these issue with New Delhi in a private setting in the weeks leading up to the leader’s call on Monday.
Russia has also been negotiating with India. Putin met Modi in December and announced that Russian oil purchases will carry on uninterrupted.
Reuters detailed the numbers behind this international hydrocarbon trade:
Last August, Trump doubled duties on imports from India to 50% to pressure New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil, and earlier this month said the rate could rise again if it did not curb its purchases.
Purchases of Venezuelan oil would help replace some of the Russian oil bought by India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer.
India relies heavily on oil imports, covering around 90% of its needs, and importing cheaper Russian oil has helped lower its import costs since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022 and western nations slapped sanctions on its energy exports.
Recently India has begun to slow its purchases from Russia. In January, they were around 1.2 million barrels per day, and are projected to decline to about 1 million bpd in February and 800,000 bpd in March, according to a Reuters report.
