India-US trade talks rescheduled after US Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs

India and the US have decided to reschedule the proposed high-level meeting of their chief trade negotiators in Washington to finalise the text of the trade agreement. The three-day meeting was scheduled to start on February 23 in the US. Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, Darpan Jain, was the Chief negotiator of the meeting. Both nations suggested that they need additional time to evaluate the legal and economic implications of a US Supreme Court order.

"With regards to the visit of the Indian team of negotiators to the US for the India-US trade deal, the two sides are of the view that the proposed visit of the Indian Chief Negotiator and the team be scheduled after each side has had the time to evaluate the latest developments and their implications. The meeting will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient date," said commerce ministry sources.

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The US Supreme Court, on a 6-3 ruling under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, suggested that the US President has exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping tariffs on his trade partners and called it illegal.

Following the SC ruling, US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced increased tariffs on all countries to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, announced a day earlier. IUS last year decided to move away from the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate framework to the reciprocal tariff framework. The US then imposed a 25 per cent tariff in August 2025, and then it further added 25 per cent more on the pretext of purchasing Russian crude. India and the US, earlier this month, had agreed on an interim trade deal reducing the reciprocal tariff from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. Now, if this 15 per cent is an additional surcharge which will be above and over the MFN rate or import duties in the US of 3.5 per cent for 150 days, unless the congress decides to extend it.