Washington/New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced a hike in tariffs on all countries to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, which was imposed a day earlier, as he slammed the US Supreme Court ruling against his earlier sweeping tariffs, calling it “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American.”
Following the Supreme Court verdict, Trump on Friday imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries, including India, from February 24 for 150 days. He raised the same to 15 percent on Saturday, which means that India now faces a tariff rate of 15 per cent, down from 18 per cent.
The Commerce Ministry said it was studying the latest US tariffs and their implications, though the statement came before Trump’s 15 per cent announcement. “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,” it said.
The US President said he is raising, effective immediately, worldwide tariff rates on countries from 10 per cent to the “legally tested” 15 per cent.
Trump said in a post on his social media that his decision to hike the tariffs to 15 per cent from Friday’s 10 per cent was based “on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court.”
“… please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the US off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again!!!,” he added.
In a proclamation titled ‘Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems’ dated February 20, Trump said he is imposing, for a period of 150 days, a “temporary import surcharge of 10 per cent ad valorem” on articles imported into the US,” effective February 24.
In a major setback to Trump’s pivotal economic agenda in his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, on Friday 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.
Further, a fact sheet issued by the White House said Trump is invoking his authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the President to address certain fundamental international payment problems through surcharges and other special import restrictions. The fact sheet noted that some goods will not be subject to the temporary import duty because of the needs of the US economy.
The goods include certain critical minerals, metals used in currency and bullion, energy, and energy products; natural resources and fertilisers that cannot be grown, mined, or otherwise produced in the US; certain agricultural products, including beef, tomatoes, and oranges; pharmaceuticals; certain electronics; passenger vehicles, some light trucks, certain medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, and certain aerospace products.
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,” he told reporters at the White House on Friday, just hours after the verdict.
The US President also said that “nothing” changes in the trade deal with India in the wake of this verdict, as he responded to the ruling by announcing an additional 10 per cent global levies on items imported into America.
“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… 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 US had imposed a reciprocal tariff of 25 per cent on India in August. Later, an additional 25 per cent was imposed for buying Russian crude oil, taking the total tariffs on India to 50 per cent. Earlier this month, both countries agreed to finalise an interim trade deal, under which Washington agreed to cut down the tariffs to 18 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday demanded that the government put the interim trade agreement on hold and renegotiate the terms of the deal. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government must also ensure that the interests of Indian farmers are fully protected during renegotiations and asked the government to categorically state that it will not allow any import liberalisation to the American side.
During 2021-25, the US was India’s largest trading partner in goods. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total exports, 6.22 per cent in imports and 10.73 per cent in bilateral trade. In 2024-25, the bilateral trade touched USD 186 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports and USD 45.3 billion imports).
