US President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed concerns that a recent Supreme Court ruling on tariffs would affect the proposed trade framework with India, insisting that “nothing changes” and asserting that the arrangement now favours Washington. He also described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a great gentleman, a great man actually”.
The remarks came amid questions over the scope of presidential authority on tariffs after the court struck down Trump’s use of a specific tariff provision. While the ruling has implications for how trade tools may be deployed, Trump maintained that the understanding with India would move ahead unaffected.
Responding to a question at a news conference about “the framework which is to be signed with India sometime soon”, Trump said: “Nothing changes, nothing changes, they’ll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs.”
“Our deal with India is that they pay tariffs. This is a reversal from what it used to be,” he said, adding: “As you know, India, and I think Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, a great man actually, but he was much smarter than the people that he was against in terms of the United States.”
Trump frames tariff shift as leverage reset
The US President characterised the new arrangement as a shift in leverage.
“We made a deal with India, and it’s a fair deal now, and we are not paying tariffs to them, and they are paying tariffs. We did a little flip,” Trump said.
Even after the court’s decision, he suggested that his administration retained negotiating room.
“All the deals are just; we’re just going to do it a different way,” he said, maintaining that the administration had “great alternatives”.
Earlier, Trump described the legal case as significant beyond trade mechanics. “This was an important case to me more as a symbol of economic and national security,” he said.
Quad Summit and bilateral ties
Asked whether he would travel to India for the upcoming Quad Summit and how he assessed the bilateral relationship, Trump responded: “I think my relationship with India is fantastic, and we’re doing trade with India.”
The news conference focused largely on the Supreme Court ruling, with Trump repeatedly returning to his view that trade measures provide diplomatic leverage.
The Supreme Court of the United States, the highest judicial authority in the country, sets binding interpretations of federal law and presidential powers. In trade disputes, its rulings determine how far a President may act without fresh approval from Congress.
New Delhi rejects linkage with Pakistan
Amid Trump’s repeated references to tariffs and the India-Pakistan war, New Delhi has clarified that there is no connection between the two.
India has reiterated that the conflict ended at Pakistan’s request after it suffered major losses, and that the trade understanding with the US followed a year-long negotiation process.