What happened to the US tariffs on India: explained simply

What happened

In August 2025 the US put a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods: 25 percent reciprocal plus 25 percent over Russian oil. On 2 February 2026 the US President announced a deal cutting the reciprocal tariff to 18 percent; the oil penalty ended on 7 February. On 20 February the US Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump that the emergency law IEEPA does not allow a president to impose tariffs, so the administration switched laws: a temporary Section 122 global tariff, then from 24 July a 10 percent Section 301 tariff on India. In September a new Act authorised tariffs of up to 100 percent on buyers of Russian energy, a ceiling rather than an actual duty.

Why it matters

The US is India's largest export destination (as of 2026), and US tariffs opened the GK section of CLAT 2026. The story teaches what tariffs are, how trade disputes are handled, and how courts can limit executive power. It sits beside India's own trade pacts: the EU deal concluded in January, the UK agreement in force from July and the New Zealand agreement in force from 20 October 2026.

Timeline

18 Dec2025
India and Oman sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Muscat (in force 1 June 2026)
27 Jan2026
India and the EU conclude free trade talks begun in 2007, at the 16th summit in New Delhi
2 Feb2026
US announces a trade deal: reciprocal tariff on India cut from 25 to 18 percent; Russian-oil penalty to go
20 Feb2026
US Supreme Court (6 to 3) holds IEEPA does not authorise tariffs; a Section 122 global tariff follows
27 Apr2026
India and New Zealand sign a free trade agreement in New Delhi
17 Jun2026
India and UK announce their trade agreement and social security convention take effect on 15 July
15 Jul2026
India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement comes into force
24 Jul2026
US imposes a 10 percent Section 301 tariff on Indian goods as the Section 122 surcharge expires
25 Jul2026
Commerce Ministry says about 45 percent of India's exports to the US are outside the new tariff
13 Aug2026
White House transshipment report places India in Tier 1; no new tariff attached
16 Sep2026
US House passes the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, 262 to 159
18 Sep2026
The Act is signed into law: tariff authority up to 100 percent on buyers of Russian energy
20 Oct2026
India-New Zealand FTA enters into force; all Indian exports to New Zealand duty free

Words to know

Tariff: A tax on imported goods. A non-tariff barrier is any other restriction, such as a quota or standard.
Reciprocal tariff: The US term for country-specific duties set in 2025 with the stated aim of matching other countries' barriers.
IEEPA: The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, a US law for economic sanctions in emergencies. The US Supreme Court held in February 2026 that it does not cover tariffs.
Section 122 and Section 301: Provisions of the US Trade Act of 1974. Section 122 allows temporary tariffs for up to 150 days; Section 301 lets the US Trade Representative act against unfair foreign trade practices and underpinned US tariffs on China from 2018.
Free trade agreement (FTA): A treaty in which countries cut tariffs on each other's goods. India's recent pacts: UAE CEPA (May 2022), Australia ECTA (December 2022), EFTA TEPA (in force October 2025), Oman CEPA (June 2026), UK CETA (July 2026), New Zealand FTA (October 2026); the EU deal was concluded in January 2026 and still needed ratification (as of the January announcement).
CEPA and CETA: Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (used for the UAE and Oman pacts) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (the UK pact): names for broad trade deals that cover services and investment as well as goods.
WTO: World Trade Organization, set up in 1995, headquartered in Geneva; it administers global trade rules and settles disputes.
Transshipment: Routing goods through a third country to disguise their origin; a US report in August 2026 flagged India among over 40 countries for risk of this with Chinese goods.

What an exam could ask

The sequence of US tariffs on India could be asked as a chronology: 50 percent from August 2025, 18 percent from February 2026, the IEEPA ruling of 20 February, a temporary Section 122 global tariff until 24 July, then a 10 percent Section 301 tariff.
The US Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling could be used in a legal reasoning passage on limits of executive power.
India's trade agreements could be asked as a match-the-partner item: which pact came into force on which date.
Basic trade vocabulary could be tested: tariff versus non-tariff barrier, FTA versus CEPA, the WTO's seat.
The Graham Act's 100 percent figure could be asked, with the distinction that it is an authority, not an imposed duty.

Angles to revise, not predictions.

Sources

Written from fact-checked news and red-teamed. Errors can occur: verify important facts with official sources.