New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- India and the US announced on Monday that they had agreed on a trade deal. India announced that it will would face 18% US tariffs, down from 50%. The US, meanwhile, said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, move toward zero tariffs on a wide range of American products and eliminate non-tariff barriers, buy $500 billion of US products, and allow greater access to its farm sector.

India has yet to confirm these aspects of the trade deal. Remember, the US's demand for greater access to India's agricultural market was a sticking point. While a better assessment will be possible once the finer details of the trade deal are released, on the face of it, an 18% tariff on India puts it on a level playing field with ot...