The United States Supreme Court on February 20 invalidated President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs imposed under a national emergency law, dealing a major blow to his trade policy. Notably, the decision comes ahead of the US mid-term polls, which are scheduled for later this year.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration exceeded its statutory authority to impose tariffs starting in February 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, a law traditionally used to address threats to national security.
But the Trump administration said in its briefing note that “tariffs will continue” and are a “critical tool” for Trump to “protect American businesses and workers, restore domestic manufacturing, lower costs and raise wages.”
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How did Donald Trump react to the decision of the US Supreme Court?
Calling the verdict a “terrible decision”, Trump announced that he would sign the 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, ANI reported. This authority allows a temporary import surcharge (up to 15%) for a period of 150 days to address balance of payments deficits.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he added: “Other alternatives will now be used to replace those that the court wrongly rejected. We have alternatives. It could be more money, we’ll take more money… We’ve taken in hundreds of billions of dollars. We’re going to continue to do that.”
Trump added that the tariffs imposed under Section 232 (National Security) and the existing Section 301 (Unfair Trade) remain “in full force and effect” because they were not affected by the IEEPA decision, the report added.
According to a Bloomberg report, however, this is a temporary measure, as the provision sets a 150-day limit on the imposition of tariffs and requires congressional approval for any further extension. Further, tariffs imposed under Section 301 would also require country-by-country investigations with an opportunity for affected companies or countries to comment, and where officials would have to conclude that a country has violated a trade agreement or engaged in practices that burden U.S. trade in order to impose tariffs, he added.
The temporary import tariff will take effect at 01:01 on February 24, according to a White House fact sheet titled “President Donald J. Trump Imposes Temporary Import Tariff to Address Critical International Payments Issues.”
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Where does India stand? Are we now paying zero tariffs?
Not according to Trump. Answering questions at the White House after the SC order, the US President said there was “no change” in the trade deal with India and that the deal “still stands”, a PTI report said.
Trump also reportedly said relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi were “great” and that India had significantly reduced oil purchases with Russia. He also repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan last year.
“I think my relationship with India is fantastic and we do business with India. India pulled out of Russia. India was getting oil from Russia. And they pulled back at my request because we want to settle this horrible war where 25,000 people are dying every month,” Trump said at a White House news conference, according to the report.
Trump added that it was his tariffs that “stopped the India-Pakistan war,” declaring, “And I did that largely through tariffs. I said, ‘Look, you’re going to fight, that’s fine, but you’re not going to trade with the United States and you’re going to pay a 200% peacetime tariff for every country’. And they called and we said:”.”
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‘All the deals are on…we’ll just do it (differently)’: Donald Trump
On the specifics of the deal with India, Trump added: “Nothing changes. They’re going to pay tariffs and we’re not going to pay tariffs. So deal with India, they’re going to pay tariffs. This is a reversal of what used to be, you know, India and I think Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, actually a great man, but he was a lot smarter than the people of the United States that we were against on the deal. India. It’s a fair deal now and we’re not paying them tariffs and they pay tariffs. We made a small turnover.
In a response to ANI, a White House official also confirmed that India will pay 10% duty as per Trump’s latest executive order until “other authority is exercised”.
Regarding India continuing to pay duties, an official told the agency, “Yes, 10% until another authority is called off.” They also advised all trading partners to abide by trade agreements, the ANI report added.
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How many tariffs is India expected to pay?
Last year, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India (25% reciprocal and 25% “punishment” for buying Russian oil), which was reduced to 18% (reciprocal, Russia-related tariff removal), after announcing a joint interim trade framework earlier this month.
According to the US Supreme Court ruling, India will be subject to zero duties as reciprocal duties are imposed under the IEEPA. With both Trump and the White House insisting that the agreements signed must be respected, India may continue to pay 18% tariffs under the latest agreement.
In addition, exports of aluminum and steel from India, subject to sector-specific duties under a separate statutory authority, are also still subject to existing charges.
The White House briefing added that Trump also “reaffirmed and continued the suspension of de minimis duty-free treatment for low-value shipments, including goods sent through the international postal system, which will also be subject to a temporary import duty imposed under Section 122.”
(With input from agencies)