US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the trade agreement between India and the United States remains unchanged, even after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled his “reciprocal tariffs” illegal.
The top court, in a 6-3 decision, found that Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose the tariffs was unlawful. The ruling raised questions about the future of ongoing trade arrangements, including the deal with India.
Court says Trump exceeded authority
The court held that Trump went beyond his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). He had used this 1977 law to introduce “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2, 2025. According to the judges, IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose such trade duties.
Despite the setback, Trump strongly criticised the justices during a press conference. He repeated that he would rely on alternative legal routes to continue imposing tariffs.
Trade deal with India remains intact
When asked whether the Supreme Court ruling would affect the India-US trade deal, Trump replied clearly: “Nothing changes. They’ll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs.”
He added, “This is a reversal for what it used to be, as you know,” while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and calling him a “great gentleman”. However, he also accused the Indian leader of “ripping off”.
“So we made a deal with India, and it’s a fair deal now, and we are not paying tariffs to them, and they are paying tariffs. We didn’t flip,” Trump said.
Earlier, both countries had agreed to revise tariff rates. Under the new arrangement, the general tariff on Indian goods entering the US was reduced from 50 percent to 18 percent. The earlier 50 percent rate included a 25 percent “penalty” linked to India’s energy trade with Russia.
Relations with India and regional claims
Trump described his administration’s relationship with India as “fantastic” and said his ties with PM Modi are “great”. He also mentioned claims that India had stopped buying Russian oil at the request of the US.
In addition, Trump repeated his assertion that he “stopped the India-Pakistan War”, “largely” by threatening both countries with 200 percent tariffs. However, New Delhi has denied this claim in the past and has maintained that the ceasefire decision was bilateral.
New global tariff under Section 122
During the same press briefing, Trump announced that he would sign a broad 10 percent “global tariff” under Section 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974. He said the measure would be signed into law on Friday, February 20, 2026, and would take effect within three days.
The Section 122 tariffs can remain in place for a maximum period of 150 days. Through this move, Trump signalled that he intends to continue his aggressive trade strategy, despite the court’s ruling against his earlier tariff framework.