Will Trump reimpose tariffs on India? Here’s what Scott Bessent said

Trump tariffs: President Donald Trump might have had a setback in terms of the tariff policy, but the tariffs would be back in a couple of months, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. This comes after the US halted collection of tariffs last month after the Supreme Court ruled that the duties were unlawful. The US had, before that, brought down tariffs on India to 18 per cent from the previous 50 per cent – the 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil was subsequently removed. 

“We had a setback at the Supreme Court in terms of the tariff policy, but we will be implementing or conducting Section 301 studies, so the tariffs could be back in place at the previous level by the beginning of July,” said Bessent at a Wall Street Journal event in Washington, as reported by Bloomberg. 

Bessent said the Section 301 tariff authority has been tested in the courts, and now business leaders would be able to start planning and making decisions around capital expenditures. Trump is using different authorities to restore the tariff policy after the Supreme Court ruled that the use of his emergency powers to impose the duties was unconstitutional.

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The US government had collected more than $130 billion in tariff payments under the program, which was imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). A US  trade court judge had ordered the federal government to issue refunds to companies that paid the tariffs.

On Thursday, Bessent also warned countries against buying Iranian oil. "We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, or if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to act," he said at the White House. The US said it will not extend the sanctions waiver that allowed countries like India to purchase Russian or Iranian oil. 

Trump had also warned countries against supplying weapons to Iran. "A country supplying military weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50 per cent, effective immediately," said Trump earlier this month.