One year after Liberation Day tariffs changed India’s trade landscape, the impact is clear: India gave up Russian oil, pledged $500 billion, and cut its own trade barriers — all to bring Trump’s 50% tariff down to 18%.
Two weeks later, the Supreme Court gave everyone 10% for free.
Liberation Day Tariffs: The Deal India Struck Under Duress
Trump’s Liberation Day — April 2, 2025 — hit India with a 26% reciprocal tariff. That climbed to an effective 50% after a separate 25% penalty for buying Russian oil. For an economy where foreign investment was already bleeding out, 50% was a gun to the head.
India negotiated for months. On February 2, 2026, the deal landed: tariffs drop to 18%, India stops buying Russian oil, commits $500 billion in US purchases, opens markets for American agriculture. Commerce Minister Goyal called it the “best” deal possible.
Eighteen days later, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump had exceeded his emergency powers under IEEPA. Liberation Day tariffs — the entire legal basis for India’s 50% rate — were struck down. Trump imposed a new 10% global tariff under Section 122. India’s rate: 10%. No concessions required.
The concessions India already made? Those stayed on the table.
What the Supreme Court Ruling Changed for India-US Trade
India had slashed Russian oil imports to a 44-month low — 1.1 million barrels per day in January 2026, down from roughly a third of its crude mix. Real pain, real compliance.
Then the US-Iran war blew up Middle East supply chains. Washington quietly handed India a 30-day waiver to resume Russian purchases. India’s Russian oil imports surged 90% in March. The concession India traded for tariff relief was reversed by the same geopolitics that created the pressure.
On the anniversary itself, Trump announced 100% tariffs on patented pharmaceutical imports. Sounds devastating — except 90% of India’s pharma exports to the US are generics. Exempt. The punch was aimed at everyone. It landed on Europe and Japan. India barely flinched.
India Trade Deal Scorecard: One Year Later
India’s tariff rate: 50% to 10%. Russian oil imports: back to pre-deal levels. New pharma tariffs: dodged. The $500 billion commitment: still on the books.
Goyal is right that the numbers improved. But India paid for something the Supreme Court was about to hand out for nothing. Next time Washington declares a trade emergency, Delhi might wait for the court date before signing away its energy policy.