NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday hailed the US Supreme Court’s ruling on sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on various countries and said the ruling shows that “the US system of checks and balances still appears to be working.”
“Hours after the US Supreme Court issued its ruling by a majority of 6 votes to 3, invalidating the tariffs imposed by Trump, Secretary General of Congress Jairam Ramesh said: “I congratulate the US Supreme Court for completely invalidating the tariff strategy adopted by President Trump! It is an absolutely astonishing decision given his ideological composition. The ruling by a majority of 6 votes to 3 is decisive.”He added: “It appears that the American system of checks and balances is still working.”Veteran Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram also demanded that the government explain the impact of the ruling on the “deal” announced on February 6 between the US and India.Chidambaram said he stated that if the Supreme Court overturns President Trump’s tariff imposition, the result will be that the United States and India will return to the status quo that existed before April 2, 2025.“Meanwhile, the United States has wrested several concessions from India without ceding any of them. What will happen to those concessions? The joint statement announced the elimination of tariffs on several goods that the United States would export to India; that India intended to import $500 billion worth of goods from the United States; that India intended to import $500 billion worth of goods from the United States;
that India will not buy Russian oil; India will address non-tariff barriers to US goods etc., the former finance minister said.He asked, “What will happen to those promises? An Indian team is now in the United States to finalize the text of the framework agreement. What will the team do now?” Chidambaram said.The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down broad global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, handing him a major loss in a case crucial to his economic agenda.The 6-3 decision focused on tariffs imposed under the Emergency Powers Act, including the sweeping reciprocal tariffs that Trump imposed on nearly every other country.The majority found that the Constitution too clearly gives Congress the power to impose taxes, including tariffs. However, Trump said “nothing changes” in the trade deal with India in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, and responded to the ruling by announcing an additional 10 percent global tariff on goods imported into the US.Trump attacked the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, calling them “fools and subordinate dogs.” “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the tariffs is very disappointing, and I’m ashamed of some of the members of the court, and I’m absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said at a White House news conference on Friday, a few hours after the ruling.
