India said it is studying the implications of the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump, as New Delhi assesses the potential impact on bilateral trade.
In its first response to the US Supreme Court verdict striking down the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, the Centre said it is studying all related developments — from the court’s judgment to Trump’s subsequent remarks — to assess their implications.
“We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs yesterday. President Trump has also addressed a press conference in that regard. Some steps have been announced by the US Administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications,” the Ministry of Commerce said in an official statement.
The response followed a major setback for the Trump administration, with the court ruling that it lacked legal authority to impose sweeping global tariffs under emergency powers. Earlier, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi said the government would examine the ruling and that either the Commerce Ministry or the Ministry of External Affairs would issue an official reaction.
In a 6–3 decision, the court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant a president the power to impose broad, across-the-board tariffs on imports. The judgment could open the door to refund claims potentially worth tens of billions of dollars.
US–India trade framework
Within hours of the ruling, Trump told reporters that his trade agenda would continue despite the setback, announcing a fresh 10 percent global tariff to be added on top of existing duties.
He also said the existing trade framework with India would remain unchanged. Responding to a question on whether the arrangement with India would still stand, Trump said, “Nothing changes. They will be paying tariffs. And we will not be paying tariffs. This is a reversal for what it used to be.”
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump added, “India, Prime Minister Modi is a great man, but he was much smarter than the people he was against in terms of the United States. He was ripping us off.”
The remarks came after an interim trade arrangement between India and the US was announced this month, under which US tariffs on Indian imports were reduced from 50 percent to 18 percent in exchange for Delhi’s commitment to stop buying Russian oil.
Following the court verdict, a White House official said the administration’s sweeping new 10 percent global tariff would reset rates for major trading partners, including India. “This is, however, only temporary as the administration will be pursuing other legal authorities to implement more appropriate or pre-negotiated tariff rates,” the official told AFP.
Meanwhile, a three-day meeting between Indian and American officials to finalise the legal text of an interim trade agreement is scheduled to begin in the US on February 23, according to PTI. The Indian delegation will be led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain, a joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.
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