A HAMMER ON TARIFF: A CONSTITUTIONAL REALITY CHECK

In a world where international diplomacy is increasingly being conducted via 2:00 AM Truth Social posts and the subtle art of “schoolyard shakedown,’ we have witnessed how to lose friends and alienate global markets. The 47th U.S. President Donald “The Deal Maker” Trump recently saw his favorite weapon, the ‘Reciprocal tariff,” shattered by the very judges he had hand-picked for the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).

• The Constitutional Reality Check

For the past year, Trump had been using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 1977 to declare a sweeping global tariff rate of 10% on countries, along with reciprocal tariffs on several countries. Trump slapped tariffs basis the trade deficit with countries, with India facing 26% tariffs. However, the act authorizes regulating commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any extraordinary threat to the U.S. having a foreign source. On February 20th 2026, SCOTUS issued a 6-3 clamp down on these tariffs, ruling that the President cannot play “God of Customs Office” without Congressional approval. Chief Justice John G. Roberts noted that in a democracy, one man’s whim doesn’t override the system of checks and balances. Trump’s reaction was characteristically DJT and MAGA certified, using harsh and unparliamentary language, labelling his judges as “enemies of the state,” and calling-Justice James Boasberg a “radical left lunatic.” The legal landscape shifted dramatically, and Trump’s new fallback was Section 122, giving him the power to increase the global tariff rate to 15% for 150 days.

• New Delhi’s Position and Response

Eighteen days before the court ruling, New Delhi signed an interim tradedeal agreeing to an 18% tariff. To secure this “discount” from the original 26%, India made staggering concessions, such as committing to buy $500B in U.S. goods, opening its sensitive agricultural sector, and agreeing to stop purchasing cheap Russian oil, replacing it with oil from the U.S. and Venezuela. Essentially, India paid a premium subscription to a service that became free for everyone else two weeks later.

• What's in it for India NOW ?

Section 122, the universal 15% tariff, the 150 day timeline leaves India in the “Wait, I want a refund !!” phase. With the tariff gun effectively jammed, India has a fantastic leverage to freeze its trade delegation and demand a total renegotiation on the concessions given. Moreover, India has the chance to retract the opened agricultural sector before they are codified into a permanent Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). SCOTUS effectively handed New Delhi a fresh start and reset button. The question now is whether it will be used to reclaim sovereignty, or whether we continue to honor a deal signed at the point of an empty gun.

- Amey Gupta