New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) After the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's global tariffs, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being "compromised", saying his "betrayal" in the India-US interim trade deal stood exposed.

The Congress alleged that the trade deal had become an "ordeal" for the country subjected to by the prime minister's "desperation and surrender".

"The PM is compromised. His betrayal now stands exposed. He can't renegotiate. He will surrender again," Gandhi said in a post on X.

This comes a day after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's global tariffs.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that if Prime Minister Modi had not been so "desperate" to protect his "fragile image" and waited just 18 days more, Indian farmers would have been saved from the agony and distress, and Indian sovereignty would have been protected.

"Yesterday after the US Supreme Court struck down his tariffs policy, President Trump declared that (i) Mr. Modi is his great friend; (ii) the India-US trade deal will continue as announced; (iii) he had personally halted Operation Sindoor on May 10 2025 by threatening to increase tariffs on Indian exports to the US if India did not halt Operation Sindoor," Ramesh said on X on Saturday.

On February 2, President Trump was the first to announce that the India-US trade deal had been finalised and said that "out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India", the Congress leader said.

"What forced Prime Minister Modi to ensure President Trump announced the India-US trade deal in the night of February 2...?" Ramesh asked. "What had happened in the Lok Sabha that afternoon that had compelled Mr. Modi to get so desperate and reach out to his good friend in the White House to create a diversion?" "The India-US trade deal is really an ordeal that India is being subjected to by the Prime Minister's desperation and surrender," he said.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala after the US Supreme Court quashed presidential powers to impose tariffs under the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 1977), President Trump has announced the imposition of 10 per cent additional tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act, 1974.

"The simple questions are - are these tariffs sustainable viz-a-viz India? Can these tariff provisions be justifiably applied to India? "Will these new tariffs still hold the US-India Trade Deal (Framework Agreement), which is being widely opposed by farmers, small and medium businesses, energy and data experts, and economists alike," he posted on X.

"Will the Modi government now show the courage to walk out of a one-sided US-India Trade Deal?" Surjewala asked.

He also asked if Modi Government will now declare in "national interest" that it will buy cheaper Russian and Iranian crude oil with a view to ensure "energy security" of the country.

"Will the Modi government declare that it will no longer withdraw 'non-tariff barriers', i.e., withdraw the meagre subsidy on agriculture or permit import of genetically modified crops into India, thereby protecting our seed integrity, purity, and biodiversity? "Will the Modi Government now declare that it is no longer under an obligation to import USD 500 billion worth of American goods (Rs 45 lakh crore) over the next 5 years on zero tarrif and thereby protect Indian manufacturers and industry? Will the Modi government promise to protect India's data and digital security?" he asked.

In the wake of the Supreme Court verdict against Trump's tariffs, he said he is imposing, for a period of 150 days, a “temporary import surcharge of 10 per cent ad valorem” on articles imported into the United States, effectively lowering the tariff rate to 10 per cent from 18 per cent.

In a major setback to what was Trump’s pivotal economic agenda in his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that the tariffs imposed by Trump on nations around the world were illegal and that the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.

Earlier this month, as the US and India announced they reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on trade, Trump issued an Executive Order removing the 25 per cent punitive tariffs imposed on India for its purchases of Russian oil, with the US president noting the commitment by New Delhi to stop directly or indirectly importing energy from Moscow and purchasing American energy products.

Under the trade deal, Washington would charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on New Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.

Shortly after the court verdict, Trump asserted that there is "no change" in the trade deal with India.

"I think my relationship with India is fantastic and we're doing trade with India... India was getting its oil from Russia. And they pulled way back at my request, because we want to settle that horrible war where 25,000 people are dying every month," Trump said at a news conference Friday in the White House.

Trump said his relationship with Prime Minister Modi "is great". He then went on to repeat the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan last summer using tariffs.

When asked about the deal with India, Trump said, "Nothing changes. They'll be paying tariffs, and we will not be paying tariffs.

"This is a reversal for what it used to be, as you know, India -- and I think Prime Minister Modi is a great gentleman, a great man, actually. But he was much smarter than the people that he was against in terms of the United States, he was ripping us off.

"So we made a deal with India. It's a fair deal now," Trump said. PTI ASK/SKC SKY SKY

Presidential tariff authority reversed, trade deal's tariff basis challenged; India-US agreement's viability questioned, prompting political backlash domestically. Following a judicial curtailment of presidential power to impose global tariffs under emergency authority, the US administration invoked an alternative statute to impose a temporary import surcharge to preserve an existing India-US interim trade framework; this shift alters the tariff basis of the deal and raises questions about the surcharge's applicability to India and the deal's implications for market access, subsidy withdrawal, agricultural protections, energy security, and data safeguards.