No one yet knows the terms of a trade deal that could significantly alter how India powers its economy. That has not stopped New Delhi and Washington from launching into full celebration mode.
Welcome to modern diplomacy, where the announcement matters far more than the agreement itself.
At the NDA’s parliamentary party meeting today, the atmosphere was less legislative and more ceremonial. BJP MPs felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with oversized garlands, accompanied by synchronised chants of “Jai Modi”, “Vande Mataram”, and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. The mood suggested a sweeping national triumph, despite the small complication that the “reduced” tariff of 18 percent is significantly higher than the effective tariff rate of 2.4 percent in 2024.
Social media, meanwhile, saw fierce competition on who could sound more grateful. From cabinet ministers to senior leaders and chief ministers, the script is uniform: a relentless flood of congratulatory posts hailing the Dear Leader. The tone was set by author Sanjeev Sanyal, who declared that the world indeed bends. All one needs is someone who can bend it. Read Narendra Modi.
In a major development late on Monday, US President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social account that India and the United States have agreed to a trade deal that has been months in the making. "Effective immediately", Trump said that the US has lowered tariffs on India to 18 percent from 50 percent. He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to “stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States, and, potentially, Venezuela.” And that India would “move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO” as well as purchase “over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products.”
Prime Minister Modi’s own post on X avoided such specifics. Expressing delight that “Made in India” products would now face an 18 percent tariff, he thanked Trump “on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India” for the announcement, and went on to praise the US president’s leadership as being “vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity”.
Sergio Gor, the recently appointed US ambassador to India, said how Trump “genuinely considers” Modi as a “great friend”. He added: “Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!”
In Washington, meanwhile, the mood is similar. Congratulating Trump, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins claimed that as per the deal, America will export more of its farm products to India and that will result in more cash flowing into rural America.
On X, she wrote: “Thank you US President Donald Trump for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. [The] New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. 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. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag.”
The pro-Trump media were effusive in their praise of the US president for striking this deal. Fox Business has hailed the deal as a “huge part of the President's tariff strategy”. Commentators on the network argued that “this is something no other president could get a handle on,” which was “to get other countries to play better by the rules”.
The prevailing sentiment was that India had been “charging us tariffs for the longest time”, and Trump’s aggressive stance was the only way to level the playing field. As one analyst put it: “He (Trump) was saying, 'if you are going to charge us, reciprocal tariffs are coming your way, you can take them to zero, we will stay at zero... and yet there were people in the United States that were against that for some reason.' He has leveled the playing field for you, me, and all Americans.” Praising Modi’s "commitment" to buy American, they noted that Trump "is getting people to do what he wants them to do."
They framed Trump as the “political entrepreneur” and the “X-factor that breaks everybody's rules because he doesn't play within the boundaries economists need to model the world.” As one analyst put it: “We can sell them coal. We can sell them energy. Things we can sell them, he will fight for. And now they are buying half a trillion dollars” of American goods.
Meanwhile, as expected, the Indian media is already ready to forgive Trump for his past sins and congratulate Modi once again on this huge win. As Modi was heading to NDA’s parliamentary party meeting, reporters were heard congratulating him on camera.
As the story broke last night, Vishnu Som of NDTV was already broadcasting segments like this:
This morning, NDTV was already running tickers like “Modi-Trump ‘Double Engine’ Rises”.
Rahul Shivshankar, editorial affairs director at CNN News18, has already praised the deal for India calling it “Atmavishwaas for Atmanirbharta” even as he acknowledged in a previous post on X that the “fine print is yet to be made public”.
News18 India’s anchor Amish Devgan congratulated the trio that made sure India didn’t bend.
There are, of course, unresolved questions. The implications for Indian agriculture, historically one of the most contentious aspects of India-US trade negotiations, are unclear. The reported commitment to abandon Russian oil raises fresh questions about India’s strategic autonomy. And it remains to be seen whether tariffs on US goods will, in fact, fall to zero.
None of this, however, appears to have dampened the mood. In both capitals, the celebrations continue. In the end, this may be the only truly reciprocal aspect of the deal: both Trump and Modi have managed to sell an unfinished text as a finished triumph — and found an ecosystem eager to applaud on cue.
This story was first published by Newslaundry and has been republished with permission.