Nothing changes, India will be payinglevies, says Trump as Supreme Courtstrikes down tariffs imposed by him

Govt studying impact of ruling: Commerce Min :  US Supreme Court Ruling on Tariffs and India Trade Deal

PTI, Feb 21, 2026, New York/Washington/New Delhi : US President Donald Trump said “nothing changes” in the trade deal with India in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict against his sweeping tariffs, as he responded to the ruling by announcing an additional 10 per cent global levies on items imported into the US.

In a major setback to Trump’s pivotal economic agenda of his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that the tariffs imposed by Trump on nations around the world were illegal and that the President had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.

Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, calling them “fools and lapdogs”. “The Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I'm ashamed of certain members of the Court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what's right for our country,” the US President said in a news conference at the White House Friday, just hours after the verdict came in.

At the news conference, Trump again repeated his claim that he had solved the war between India and Pakistan last summer using the threat of tariffs, asserted that New Delhi, at his request, “pulled way back” from buying Russian oil and said that the ruling would have no effect on the trade deal that Washington and New Delhi announced earlier this month.

The President also spoke about his “great” relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When asked whether the framework for an interim agreement on trade with India, expected to be signed soon, stands in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said “nothing changes”.

“Nothing changes. They'll (India) be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs. So deal with India is they pay tariffs. This is a reversal for what it used to be. As you know, India and I think 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. 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,” Trump said.

“The India deal is on... all the deals are on, we're just going to do it” in a different way, the President said.

To another question on his relationship with India, he said, “I think my relationship with India is fantastic and we're doing trade with India. India pulled out of Russia. India was getting its oil from Russia. And they pulled way back at my request because we want to settle that horrible war where 25,000 people are dying every month,” Trump said. He said his relationship with Prime Minister Modi “is, I would say, great.”

Trump then went on to repeat the claim, twice within the press conference, that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan using tariffs.

Earlier this month, as the US and India announced they reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on trade, Trump issued an Executive Order removing the 25 per cent punitive tariffs imposed on India for its purchases of Russian oil, with the US President noting the commitment by New Delhi to stop directly or indirectly importing energy from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry said on Saturday that the Union government is studying the developments on the US tariffs and their implications.

"We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs yesterday (Friday). US President Donald Trump has also addressed a press conference in this regard. Some steps have been announced by the US administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications," the ministry said.

In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision on tariffs, Trump said there is no change in the trade deal with India and emphasised that the India deal is on.

To finalise the legal text for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the Indian team is scheduled to meet its counterparts in Washington from February 23, 2026.