US President Donald Trump praised his “wonderful” relationship with India and continued to claim that New Delhi “backed out” on purchasing Russian oil at his “request” when asked how the US Supreme Court’s tariff ruling would affect relations and trade with India. He also clarified that “nothing changes” in his trade deal with India after the US Supreme Court struck down several controversial tariffs he imposed last year.
It is worth noting that the Indian side did not confirm or deny that it would stop importing Russian oil, and merely said that it would maintain multiple energy sources, guided by the national interest in all purchases. Follow live updates here.
Read also | Who is Neil Katyal? The lawyer who took Trump’s tariffs to the US Supreme Court
What Trump said about India’s purchases of Russian oil and the trade deal
When asked whether the framework of the interim trade agreement with India, expected to be signed soon, was still in place after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said, “Nothing changes.”
He also spoke about his “great” relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also claimed that the Indian Prime Minister was “robbing” them.
“Nothing has changed. They (India) will pay the tariffs, we won’t pay the tariffs. So the deal with India is that they pay the tariffs. That’s the opposite of what it was before. You know, India, and I think Prime Minister Modi is a great man, a great man, actually, but he was much smarter than the people he was against in terms of the United States; he was cheating us. So we made a deal with India. It’s a fair deal.” “We don’t pay them tariffs, they pay tariffs, we just flip-flopped a little bit,” Trump said.
While Trump repeated the claim that he was able to resolve the India-Pakistan conflict last summer using tariff threats, he also claimed that New Delhi, following his request, “backed off” on purchasing Russian oil.
Trump said: “I think my relationship with India is great, and we trade with India. India withdrew from Russia. India was getting its oil from Russia. They backed down at my request because we want to settle this terrible war in which 25,000 people die every month.”
The confrontation between India and Pakistan ended on May 10, 2025 through a “ceasefire understanding.” However, before both sides could officially declare a cessation of fighting, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social claiming to have “stopped the war.”
India has repeatedly rejected any US role in the ceasefire understanding, noting that Pakistan’s Directorate General of Monitoring has contacted New Delhi to seek a truce.
Read also | ‘I can destroy trade, but I can’t make a dollar’: Trump mocks US Supreme Court’s tariff order
US Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs
In a landmark ruling, the US Supreme Court struck down several of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, marking a powerful setback for his signature economic move.
Trump, who appointed two of the justices who ruled against him, responded angrily and claimed, without evidence, that foreign interests influenced the court.
During the court proceedings, the Trump administration said companies would receive refunds if the tariffs were ruled unlawful. However, the ruling did not address this issue.
Meanwhile, Trump moved to replace the rescinded tariffs by announcing temporary global import tariffs of 10% for 150 days. He also ordered new investigations under other laws that might allow him to return customs duties.
With input from agencies
