‘Why did India not wait?’: Jairam Ramesh questions timing of US trade deal; cites Supreme Court tariff ruling | India News
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday questioned the Centre over not waiting for the Supreme Court of the United States ruling on Trump tariffs before agreeing to a trade deal framework with Washington.The US court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that the administration had exceeded its authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose broad-based import tariffs. However, US president Donald Trump later raised worldwide tariffs to the “fully allowed, and legally tested, 15 per cent level,” effective immediately.Ramesh said the Union government could have waited for the court’s decision instead of agreeing to the trade deal framework. He suggested that India could have been in a stronger position to negotiate after the verdict.In a post on X, he wrote, “This is the calendar of the US Supreme Court, decided and released months in advance. It clearly marks out February 20 as a non-argument day i.e., a day when arguments will not be heard and a judgment could be released. The court had already heard arguments relating to tariffs on November 5, 2025, and it was well known that the justices were not expected to be favourably inclined to president Trump’s tariffs. Why then did India not wait until February 20 to sign the trade deal? What was the desperation to do so on February 2, 2026?”Criticising the deal further, he alleged that the framework compromised the interests of Indian farmers. “Had the Prime Minister not felt the need to distract the media, the parliament, and the people by announcing this trade deal and compromising the interests of millions of our farmers, India would have been in a much stronger bargaining position right now,” he said.On Saturday, the government said it was studying the implications of the US Supreme Court judgment on tariffs and the steps announced by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, ANI sources in the commerce ministry said the proposed meeting of chief negotiators of India and the US in Washington DC to finalise discussions on the trade deal will be rescheduled.“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,” the sources said.
