A month after India and the US ‘agreed’ on a trade deal that was practically dictated by the US President, three weeks after the salient points were unilaterally released in what was supposedly a ‘joint statement’ and more than a week after the US Supreme Court threw out Trump’s ‘emergency’ tariffs as illegal, the much-discussed trade deal is as clear as mud.

Since we’re now used to hearing it from Trump first — be it war or trade — many presumed the US President’s annual State of the Union address would perhaps reveal where the deal now stands. But no such luck — his focus was on claiming the tariff regime as a spectacular success and on issuing threats to invoke other laws to take it forward.

In his first public reaction, though, after the Supreme Court declared his tariff actions illegal, Trump was emphatic that the ‘India deal’ was still on, that Modi, ‘a smart man and a great friend’, would deliver despite the ruling. Some 48 hours later, he warned countries, without naming them, that they better not play games with him on the basis of the court ruling.

His new 15 per cent tariff has been imposed via a proclamation under Sec. 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974 — a rarely used law that allows the executive to impose tariffs of up to 15 per cent for 150 days, after which the US Congress must ratify it. As per Trump, though, ‘Congressional action’ will not be necessary.

While not specifically naming India, Trump described the tariffs and trade deals with different countries as ‘historic’ and good for the US economy. These agreements, he said, were opening foreign markets to American goods and bringing home revenue. And the US Supreme Court judgment was but a temporary obstacle; his administration would ultimately prevail.

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