'Studying all developments for implications': India breaks silence on US Supreme Court tariff judgment

Union minister Pralhad Joshi says government will assess the US Supreme Court order, while President Trump asserts India-US trade terms remain unaffected.

• India to review US Supreme Court ruling on Trump's tariffs
• No official Indian response yet on trade implications
• Trump says India-US trade deal remains unaffected by ruling

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The Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Saturday said it has 'noted' the US Supreme Court judgment on tariffs and is studying the Trump administration’s next steps for their implications, signalling that New Delhi is assessing both the court order and Washington’s policy response before taking a public position.

“We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs yesterday. President Trump has also addressed a press conference in that regard. Some steps have been announced by the US Administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications,” the ministry said in an official press statement.

Earlier on Saturday, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said, India will review the US Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision striking down President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs before issuing an official response.

The ruling, which declared Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) unconstitutional for imposing broad tariffs, has injected fresh uncertainty into global trade, but Washington and New Delhi appear publicly cautious for now.

Speaking in the first response from the Indian government, Joshi said the Centre would examine the US Supreme Court’s order and that either the commerce ministry or the ministry of external affairs would formally react after reviewing the judgment.

#WATCH | Kalaburagi | On the US Supreme Court's order on the US tariffs, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi says, "I have read in the media that the US top court has given some judgment and the Indian government will study that and whatever the reaction needs to be given, that will be… pic.twitter.com/7KkVqFwHEv

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2026

The US top court held that the Trump administration had exceeded its authority by invoking IEEPA, a 1977 emergency law, to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs. The 6-3 decision curbs the use of that statute for broad trade actions without explicit congressional approval.

Despite the legal setback, Trump maintained that the India-US trade equation would remain intact.

“Nothing changes. They'll be paying tariffs and we will not be paying tariffs,” Trump said after the ruling. “PM Modi is a great man… We are not paying tariffs to them and they are. We did a little flip.”

Trump framed the arrangement as a rebalancing of trade terms, reiterating his long-held claim that India had previously imposed higher duties on US goods.

Trump also repeated his assertion that India reduced purchases of Russian oil at his request, linking it to broader geopolitical efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.

“India was getting its oil from Russia, and they pulled way back on my request because we want to settle a horrible war,” he said.

India has not explicitly confirmed that any change in its energy sourcing was made at Trump’s request. New Delhi has consistently maintained that its energy decisions are guided by national interest and market conditions.

The Supreme Court decision invalidated the broad reciprocal tariffs imposed under IEEPA but did not automatically dismantle all tariff measures introduced during Trump’s presidency. Trump has signalled he could invoke other statutory provisions, including Section 122, to pursue tariff actions.