India and the US have decided to reschedule a planned meeting of their chief negotiators in Washington that was meant to finalise the legal text of an interim trade pact, news agency PTI reported via sources. This development came after the US Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump‘s administration under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as illegal. The Indian delegation was earlier set to start a three-day meeting from February 23. India’s chief negotiator is Darpan Jain who is the Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry.
Ministry sources told PTI that both sides want the visit “scheduled after each side has the time to assess the latest developments and their implications” and that it will be reset for a mutually convenient date.
Hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all countries from February 24 but a day later, the US government raised it to 15%.
What does this mean for tariffs on India?
The US had earlier imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on India in August 2025 and later added another 25% duty related to India’s purchase of Russian crude, taking the total to 50%. Earlier this month, both sides agreed on a framework under which Washington would cut tariffs to 18% and remove the punitive 25%.
As per the latest update, there is no clarity yet on what tariff level will apply to countries like India from now on.
What did the SCOTUS ruling say?
The US Supreme Court’s decision was a 6-3 ruling on Friday (February 20) and it held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorise broad-based under emergency powers. Trump has invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a uniform tariff, and that sector-specific tariffs on steel, automobiles and aluminium remain in force.
In a presser after the court ruling, the US President had said that the India-US trade deal will remain unchanged under the revised framework.