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President Donald Trump doubled the ante on his trade approaches, especially with India, during a belligerent press brief, in which his so-called reciprocal tariffs, as officially declared by the US Supreme Court, were ruled illegal only on February 20, 2026. The 6-3 decision invalidated Trump's powers to enforce blanket tariffs without congressional authorization, but the president argued that it will not disrupt continuing negotiations.

Trump stated that nothing will change when questioned about the India-US trade deal, which should be concluded in the near future. They (India) will be paying tariffs, and we will not pay tariffs. This is the opposite of what it was before. He sang the praises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "I believe that Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, a great man actually. " He was much smarter than the people that he was up against in terms of the United States—he was ripping us off."

Trump gave a reason for the change: "So we struck a deal with India." It is even merit, and we are not paying tariffs to them, and they are paying tariffs. We did a little flip. "The remarks are about the interim trade pact that was announced previously in the month of February, where US tariffs on goods from India are cut by 50 percent (added with penalties levied by the US against Indian relationships with Russia), yet the US remains at an advantage.

The ruling by the Supreme Court has elicited discussions about executive overreach, which was a blow to the America First agenda of Trump, according to critics of the ruling. Trump, however, declared another 10% global tariff in retaliation, trying to protect the US interests.

The Ministry of External Affairs of India still has not been able to react, but there have been reports that the deal is still on the cards, with a balance of trade being the main area of focus amidst geopolitical tensions. The statements made by Trump reflect his characteristic unrefined manner, which is full of praise toward Modi and rough trade speech. In a way this is a flip that may transform India-US economic relationships even decades ahead as the negotiation process goes on.