Last Updated:February 20, 2026, 21:55 IST

The verdict does not overturn all of Trump’s tariff actions as duties imposed on steel and aluminium under separate legal provisions remain intact.

US President Donald Trump and PM Modi | File Image

The US Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariff regime, ruling that the measures were imposed without legal backing.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorise the president to unilaterally impose broad, across-the-board tariffs.

The 1977 law allows the executive to regulate certain international economic transactions during a declared national emergency, but does not extend to blanket tariff actions, the court said.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, said Congress has delegated tariff-setting powers only in limited and clearly defined circumstances.

He was joined by the court’s three liberal justices and conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

Also Read: US To Refund Billions? What Next After Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

What The Ruling Means For India

The verdict does not overturn all of Trump’s tariff actions. Duties imposed on steel and aluminium under separate legal provisions remain intact. However, it invalidates two major categories of tariffs introduced using IEEPA.

These include the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, which carried a baseline rate of 10 per cent for most countries, and a separate 25 per cent levy imposed on select imports from Canada, China and Mexico over fentanyl-related concerns.

India had been subject to the reciprocal tariffs, with a 26 per cent rate announced on Trump’s “Liberation Day” in April 2025, later revised to 25 per cent.

With the court ruling, these IEEPA-based tariffs no longer apply, effectively bringing reciprocal tariffs on most Indian exports down to zero for now.

Separately, India had also faced a 25 per cent “penalty” tariff linked to its imports of Russian oil, a measure the US had said was tied to the Ukraine war.

That levy was removed earlier this month after New Delhi and Washington reached a trade understanding. As a result, both the penal tariff and the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods now stand withdrawn.

Under the trade framework discussed earlier, the reciprocal tariff was expected to be reduced to 18 per cent, but the court’s decision renders that rate moot for the time being.

Tariffs That Still Apply

Despite the relief, US tariffs on Indian goods do not disappear entirely.

Duties on steel and aluminium exports, imposed under different statutory authority, continue to apply.

For other products, tariffs revert to pre-IEEPA levels, which are generally lower under the standard US tariff schedule, though sector-specific levies remain.

The ruling does not prevent Trump, or a future administration, from imposing tariffs using other laws.

However, such actions would face stricter procedural limits and could require congressional involvement.

US officials have indicated that alternative legal routes could still be explored to retain elements of the tariff framework.

For India, the decision comes at a critical juncture. Ongoing trade talks with Washington had been overshadowed by tariff uncertainty, particularly for exporters in textiles, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods.

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Trump Tariffs Live Updates: In a big blow to Donald Trump, the US Supreme Court on Friday ruled against his global tariffs, saying that they are “illegal” and the President exceeded his authority in imposing a swath of tariffs that shook down the world.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and the court agreed 6-3 that the tariffs exceeded the law.

“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote for the court. “In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”

While Trump has long used tariffs as a lever for pressure and negotiations, he made unprecedented use of emergency economic powers upon returning to the presidency last year to slap new duties on virtually all US trading partners.

These included “reciprocal” tariffs over trade practices that Washington deemed unfair, alongside separate sets of duties targeting major partners Mexico, Canada and China over illicit drug flows and immigration.

The court on Friday noted that “had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs” with IEEPA, “it would have done so expressly, as it consistently has in other tariff statutes.”

The ruling does not impact sector-specific duties that Trump has separately imposed on imports of steel, aluminum and various other goods. Formal probes which could ultimately lead to more such sectoral tariffs remain in the works.

The Supreme Court’s decision affirms earlier findings by lower courts that tariffs Trump imposed under IEEPA were illegal.

A lower trade court had ruled in May that Trump overstepped his authority with across-the-board levies and blocked most of them from taking effect, but that outcome had been put on hold as the government sought an appeal.