“India Will Continue To Pay Tariffs, But America Will Not’

US president Donald Trump’s administration received a major judicial rollback after the Supreme Court has blocked the sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed on several countries in the last one year as part of his aggressive trade policy. The apex court of USA on Friday observed that Trump pursued tariffs under a law that was meant for use in national emergencies. 

In his first reaction on this unexpected jolt, Trump came down heavily on the judges and further imposed additional 10% tariffs using another legal provision. Meanwhile, he also responded on the impact of trade ties with India in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling which is expected to have wide ranging consequences. 

Speaking to the media, Trump clarified that the India – US trade deal will remain intact despite the Court’s latest order. He said, “Nothing changes, they’ll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs. So, the deal with India is they pay tariffs. This is a reversal for what it used to be.” 

Trump remarks suggest that India would not get any immediate exemption from the latest court order, stressing that existing terms under the bilateral trade understanding would stay in force. It appears like Trump’s administration intends to preserve country-specific tariff arrangements, especially with India. 

Trump further said, “Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, a great man, actually, but he was much smarter than the people that he was against in terms of the United States. He was ripping us off, India. So we made a deal with India, it’s a fair deal now, and we are not paying tariffs to them and they are paying tariffs. We did a little flip.”

Last year, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on India and later hiked it to a total of 50% as a punitive measure for buying Russian oil. However, a few days ago, both countries held negotiations and Trump slashed the additional tariffs and reduced it to 18% and this announcement came as a heartwarming news for Indian exporters.