Trump Signals Imminent Trade Deal with India, Endorses Modi as "Tough as Hell" Leader

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed his "great respect and love" for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while crediting himself with averting an India-Pakistan war through a threatened tariffs of 250%. The comment marked a significant development in the long-awaited trade deal between the two nations, with sources indicating that a provisional agreement has been reached, pending a final framework agreement. As part of the deal, India is expected to reduce purchases of Russian oil and step up US energy imports, including buying US corn for its growing bio-fuel programme.

Key Takeaways:

A trade deal between the US and India is imminent, with a provisional agreement reportedly reached between trade delegations from both sides.
The deal is expected to bring down the US tariff on Indian exports from 50% to 15%, and includes India reducing purchases of Russian oil while stepping up US energy imports.
India will also commit to buying US corn for its bio-fuel programme and unspecified military hardware.
Trump claims to have prevented an India-Pakistan war through a threatened tariffs of 250%, a figure that neither he nor his officials have mentioned before.
Indian sources have dismissed Trump's account as "arrant nonsense", stating that the truce came as a result of Pakistan's DGMO requesting a ceasefire.
Trump has expressed his respect and admiration for PM Modi, calling him "the nicest-looking guy" and a "tough as hell" leader.

Statistics:

The current US tariff on Indian exports is 50% (Source: [1])
The expected US tariff on Indian exports under the new deal is 15% (Source: [1])
India is expected to reduce purchases of Russian oil as part of the deal (Source: [1])
India will step up US energy imports, including buying US corn for its bio-fuel programme (Source: [1])
Seven planes were reportedly shot down during the brief India-Pakistan war (Source: [2])

Sources:

[1] TNN
[2] TNN