New Delhi, Feb 20 With the US Supreme Court striking down reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration on Friday, Indian exporters were jubilant at the news. However, around $8-9 billion worth of trade is still likely to face higher duties under national security provisions.
The US Supreme Court ruling effectively eliminates the 18 per cent reciprocal tariff agreed earlier under the India–US trade framework.
According to analysts, Section 232 duties remain in force, covering sectors deemed critical to US national security such as steel, aluminium, automobiles, timber, copper and certain machinery products.
According to data, India exported about $8.3 billion worth of goods in Section 232 categories to the US in 2024.
This accounts for around 10.4 per cent of India's more than $80 billion exports to the US.
However, the US administration indicated it could explore alternative routes to impose trade restrictions.
Among the options available to the US administration is to rely on long-standing trade statutes that give the President authority to impose tariffs after formal investigations.
After the US Supreme Court ruling, President Trump said that he has a "backup plan" for the punitive duties.
As per reports, these include Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the US to impose duties in response to unfair trade practices by foreign countries, and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which permits tariffs on national security grounds.
Meanwhile, the US court ruling marks a rare instance of the conservative-led court reining in Trump's use of executive power.
According to Politico, the court in a 6-3 decision struck down the tariffs, calling it "a major repudiation of a core piece of Trump's economic programme".
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