Donald Trump has said the interim trade arrangement with India remains unchanged despite the US Supreme Court striking down his reciprocal tariff regime, insisting that New Delhi will continue to pay duties while Washington will not.
The remarks come after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration had exceeded its authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose sweeping tariffs on goods from nearly all major trading partners.
Speaking at a press briefing, Trump said the bilateral understanding with India would stand irrespective of the court verdict.
He said that under the trade agreement struck with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India would continue to pay tariffs, while the US would not impose reciprocal duties.
“Nothing changes. They’ll be paying tariffs and we will not be paying tariffs,” Trump said, describing the arrangement as a “fair deal” and adding that the US had done a “little flip”.
Earlier, Trump had announced on his Truth Social platform that Washington reduced tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent under an interim framework, while New Delhi agreed to eliminate tariffs on US goods.
The two countries have agreed on a framework for an interim agreement and reaffirmed their commitment to negotiate a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), expected to be signed by the end of March.
The Supreme Court’s ruling dealt a blow to a central pillar of Trump’s trade strategy. The court held that the administration’s use of IEEPA to justify blanket tariffs went beyond the powers granted by Congress.
A White House official later indicated that countries such as India would face a 10 percent tariff under the new provision until another legal authority is invoked.
At the same press conference, Trump defended his tariff policy, claiming that trade measures had helped him settle multiple international conflicts, including tensions between India and Pakistan.
Referring to the 2025 crisis following Operation Sindoor — India’s punitive action after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack — Trump repeated his assertion that he had played a role in preventing escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Despite the court setback, Trump signalled that tariffs would remain central to his economic and foreign policy strategy, even as legal and political challenges mount at home.
