The US Supreme Court invalidated most of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures on Friday — throwing his sweeping measures against more than 180 countries into disarray. Congress leader P. Chidambaram also questioned the future of the recently announced India-US trade deal framework.
In a post on X, Chidambaram stated that in his February 15 column, he had written that if the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariff, “The USA and India will revert to the status quo ante (before April 2, 2025).” He further added that the United States had already secured several commitments from India “without conceding any” and asked what would now happen to those promises.
Chidambaram specifically made reference to the February 6 joint statement that highlighted key elements of the proposed trade framework between the two countries.
What concessions did Chidambaram refer to?
In his post, Chidambaram has made references to several commitments mentioned in the joint statement. These included zero tariffs on many goods that the US would export to India. New Delhi’s intention to import USD 500 billion worth of goods from the United States, and a pledge not to buy Russian oil. The statement also referred to India addressing non-tariff barriers affecting US goods.
“What will happen to those promises?”He asked, appealing to the government to clarify the implications of the US Supreme Court’s decision on the framework agreement.
The Congress leader also raised a question on the role of the Indian delegation currently in the United States to finalise the text of the Framework Agreement. “What will the team do now?” he mentioned, calling on the government to explain the impact of the judgment on the February 6 announcement.
What did the US Supreme Court decide?
The US Supreme Court ruled that the President did not have the authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping import duties on goods from all trading partners.
The tariffs had earlier included a 50 percent levy on certain Indian goods, including a 25 percent component related to oil imports from Russia. The trade deal framework had reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to the broader US-India Bilateral Agreement (BTA), announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2015. The joint statement termed the interim agreement as a step toward “reciprocal and balanced trade” and outlined tariff reductions on US industrial and agricultural products.