"What forced PM Modi to accept all conditions of Trump?": Pawan Khera on US SC's verdict on tariffs

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 21 (ANI): Congress leader Pawan Khera launched a sharp attack on the Centre following US President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping 10 per cent global tariffs after the US Supreme Court struck down his earlier emergency tariff authority.
Khera questioned the timing and terms of India's trade understanding with the United States, stating that the PM Modi-led government "could have waited 18 days".
"The Supreme Court of the United States of America has stopped the emergency powers under which Donald Trump was imposing tariffs on different countries of the world. The fact that on the 20th of February, the Supreme Court had to pass an order was known to everybody in the world, including our Indian officials and the Indian government," Khera told ANI.
He alleged that despite this knowledge, the Indian government moved hastily. "What forced or compelled Narendra Modi to suddenly, on the 2nd of February, call up Donald Trump and accept all his conditions, including the fact that we will not buy cheap oil from Russia? That in itself is a huge loss for us," Khera said.
The Congress leader further claimed that India moved from paying a 3 per cent tariff on exports to the US to accepting an 18 per cent tariff, while allowing American goods to enter India at zero per cent duty. "It's not a reciprocal tariff. The products of America that come to India will get 0 per cent tariff. So why did we accept this? There is some reason," he said.
Raising a series of questions, Khera added, "Is it because Mr. Gandhi was talking about the Naravane book or the Epstein files? There is something which ensures that Mr. Narendra Modi surrenders and gets compromised in front of the United States of America."
He alleged that the deal has hurt key sectors.
"In the process, our farmers, the cotton farmers, are suffering. In the process, our textile industry is suffering. And in the process, our economy overall is suffering. Somebody needs to be accountable," Khera said, adding that responsibility must be fixed either on Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal or the Prime Minister.
Congress leader maintained that the agreement "could have definitely waited for 18 days," calling it a "completely lopsided arrangement" that has angered the country.
Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration exceeded its legal authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose broad-based import tariffs. Terming the SC's ruling as a "terrible decision", Trump announced he would sign an executive order for a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This authority allows for a temporary import surcharge (up to 15%) for 150 days to address balance-of-payments deficits.
Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and the three liberal justices, held that the IEEPA does not explicitly authorise the president to levy duties--a power the Constitution assigns to Congress. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, supporting the administration's broader interpretation of emergency powers.
The ruling invalidated billions of dollars in "reciprocal" and emergency tariffs, potentially requiring the government to refund approximately $130-$175 billion in collected revenue. (ANI)