NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday welcomed the US Supreme Court’s ruling against President Donald Trump’s imposition of sweeping tariffs on various countries, saying the decision showed that “the US system of checks and balances appears to still be working.“Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the tariffs imposed by Trump in a 6-3 ruling, Congressional Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “Hats off to the U.S. Supreme Court for striking down President Trump’s entire tariff strategy! This is a pretty astonishing decision given its ideological makeup. The 6-3 ruling is decisive.”“The U.S. system of checks and balances appears to be still functioning,” he added.Veteran Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram also demanded that the government explain the impact of the judgment on the “agreement” announced by the United States and India on February 6.Chidambaram said he had said that if the Supreme Court overturns the tariffs imposed by President Trump, the result will be that the United States and India will return to the status quo ante before April 2, 2025.“At the same time, the United States has proposed multiple concessions to India without any concessions. What will happen with these concessions? The joint statement announced that the United States will impose zero tariffs on many goods exported to India; India intends to import goods worth $500 billion from the United States; India will not buy Russian oil; India will address non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods and so on,” the former finance minister said.“What will happen with these commitments? The Indian team is now in the United States finalizing the text of the framework agreement. What will the team do now?” Chidambaram said.The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs, dealing him a major loss on an issue central to his economic agenda.The 6-3 decision focused on tariffs imposed under emergency powers laws, including sweeping reciprocal tariffs that Trump has imposed on nearly all other countries.Most agree that the Constitution very clearly gives Congress the power to impose taxes, including tariffs. However, Trump said after the Supreme Court ruling that “nothing has changed” in the trade deal with India and announced an additional 10% global tariff on goods imported into the United States in response to the ruling.Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, calling them “fools and stooges.” “The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of some members of the court and absolutely ashamed that they don’t have the courage to do the right thing for our country,” Trump said at a news conference at the White House on Friday, just hours after the ruling was announced.
