President Donald Trump’s trade policies suffered a serious setback on February 20 when the US Supreme Court declared his broad tariffs imposed under a national emergency law to be unconstitutional. The decision is noteworthy since it happened before the US midterm elections later this year.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration breached the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, a measure typically used to address national security threats, by imposing tariffs starting in February 2025.
What was Donald Trump’s response to the US Supreme Court’s decision?
According to ANI, Trump declared that he will approve a 10% worldwide tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and referred to the ruling as a “bad decision.” In order to alleviate balance-of-payments deficits, this power permits a temporary import fee (up to 15%) for 150 days.
“Other alternatives will now be employed to replace the ones that the court incorrectly rejected,” he said, speaking to reporters at the White House. We have other options. There is a chance we will earn more money. Our revenue has exceeded hundreds of billions of dollars. We will keep doing that.
According to the source, Trump further stated that tariffs levied under Section 232 (National Security) and the current Section 301 (Unfair Trade) are still “in full force and effect” because the IEEPA decision had no bearing on them.
However, according to a Bloomberg article, this is only a temporary solution because the clause limits duty impositions to 150 days and calls for congressional approval for any more extensions.
Additionally, it stated that in order to impose tariffs under Section 301, officials would have to conduct country-specific investigations and give affected companies or nations the opportunity to present their case. They would also need to determine whether the country has violated a trade agreement or engaged in practices that hinder US trade.
What is India’s current position? Do we pay no tariffs anymore?
Trump says no. In response to inquiries at the White House after the SC’s ruling, the US president stated that the trade agreement with India has “no change” and is “still on,” according to a PTI report.
According to reports, Trump also stated that India has drastically cut back on its oil purchases from Russia and that ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi are “excellent.” Additionally, he reiterated his assertion that he prevented an Indian-Pakistani war last year.
“I have a great relationship with India, and we trade with them. India left Russia. Russia was supplying India with its oil. According to the article, Trump stated during the White House news conference, “And they withdrew well back at my request, because we want to settle that horrific war where 25,000 people are dying every month.”
“And I did it largely with tariffs,” Trump continued, adding that his tariffs were the reason that “stopped the war between India and Pakistan.” I told them, “Look, you are going to fight, that is OK, but you are going to pay a 200% tax, each country, and you are not going to do business with the United States.” “We have made peace,” they declared when they called.
Donald Trump said, “All deals are on… simply going to do it (differently).”
“Nothing changes,” Trump continued when asked about the details of the agreement with India. We will be exempt from paying tariffs, while others will. They pay tariffs in order to deal with India. This is a reverse of the past; as you are aware, India and Prime Minister Modi are both excellent men and gentlemen, but he was stealing from us and was far sharper than the people he opposed in the United States.
Thus, we reached an agreement with India. Now that we are not paying them tariffs and they are paying them, it is a fair deal. We performed a small flip. All of the deals, including the one with India, are still in place; we are just doing them in a different way.
A White House official confirmed to ANI that India will pay 10% tariffs in accordance with Trump’s most recent executive order until “another authority is exercised.”
“Yes, 10% till another authority is invoked,” the official informed the agency on India’s continued tariff payments. According to the ANI report, they also counseled all trading partners to follow the terms of the agreements.
What is the anticipated tariff amount for India?
Notably, after a joint interim trade framework statement earlier this month, Trump lowered the 50% tariffs he placed on India last year—which included 25% “punishment” and 25% reciprocal penalties—to 18% (reciprocal, with duties relating to Russia eliminated).
According to the US Supreme Court’s decision, India will be free from tariffs since IEEPA imposes reciprocal tariffs. Nonetheless, India may continue to pay 18% duties in accordance with the most recent agreement as Trump and the White House both stress that agreements must be kept.
Additionally, the current taxes still apply to Indian steel and aluminum exports, which are subject to sector-specific tariffs under a different regulatory authority.
