Dec 11 (Reuters) - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on Thursday, as New Delhi seeks relief from 50% tariffs imposed by Washington on some of the country's key exports.
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments," Modi said in a post on X.
Modi and Trump have spoken three times since Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50%, hitting exports of textiles, chemicals
and food items such as shrimp.
Modi described his conversation with Trump as "warm and engaging" and said their countries would continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity.
Trade negotiations between the two sides collapsed in late July, after India resisted opening its market for U.S. farm products and declined to acknowledge President Trump's role in mediating during an India-Pakistan conflict.
Talks have continued since then, amid signs Indian refiners are cutting Russian oil purchases after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war.
U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer is in New Delhi on a two-day visit to discuss trade ties, as New Delhi seeks relief from punitive tariffs imposed by Washington over its Russian oil purchases.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in New Delhi on a state visit last week and offered India uninterrupted fuel supplies and challenged U.S. pressure on India to not buy Russian fuel.
Exports to the U.S. fell nearly 9% year-on-year in October to $6.31 billion from $6.91 billion a year ago, though they were higher than $5.47 billion in September, Indian government data showed.
Washington is also pushing India to lower tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods and open its market to American farm products, including soybean and grain sorghum.
(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)
