New Delhi, Feb. 21 -- The US Supreme Court's ruling blocking the use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs has significantly narrowed the executive branch's trade toolkit. While the administration can still pursue tariffs under other statutes, those routes are more constrained, procedurally demanding and legally vulnerable.

"By holding that the IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, the Supreme Court has effectively removed the legal foundation for emergency-based reciprocal duties that were used as the negotiating baseline," said Agneshwar Sen, trade policy leader, EY India.

"For India, this will require a redrawing of the structure of the trade d...