Weekly Recap: US Tariff Rulings, India AI Summit, and France Defense Talks
The past week was marked by several major global developments. Key highlights included a significant US Supreme Court ruling on trade tariffs, India hosting a high profile Global AI Impact Summit with massive investment deals, a sharp dip in the Indian stock market, and progressing defense talks between India and France regarding Rafale jets.
Here is a look back at the most important stories from the week:
US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs
The US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff system. The court decided that the President exceeded his authority by using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs without approval from Congress.
Following the ruling, President Trump held a White House press briefing. He announced that he would instead use powers under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to introduce new 10% tariffs on all trading partners within the next three days. This change is not expected to impact the current trade deal between India and the United States.
Major Investments at India AI Impact Summit 2026
The India AI Impact Summit took place from February 16 to 21, resulting in several massive investment announcements. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, confirmed that India is on track to attract over $200 billion in AI and data infrastructure investments.
Currently, $70 billion has already been committed and another $90 billion has been announced. Major players promising investments include:
- Microsoft and Google
- OpenAI
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
- Adani Group and Reliance Industries
During the summit, India and the US signed the “Pax Silica” Declaration. Additionally, the Managing Director of the IMF noted that AI has the potential to boost global economic growth by 0.8%.
Progress on the India France Rafale Deal
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that the proposed deal for 114 Rafale jets will be part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Under this plan, 90 of the 114 aircraft will be manufactured within India.
President Macron shared this update during the AI Impact Summit. He also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be a special guest at the G7 summit in France this July. Macron noted that the bilateral relationship is at its “highest point” and expressed a desire to expand cooperation even further.
Stock Market Sees Biggest Drop Since Budget Day
India’s benchmark stock indices, the Nifty and Sensex, ended a three day winning streak with a sharp decline on February 19. This marked the worst single-day drop since the February 1 Budget Day.
- Nifty 50: Dropped 400 points (1.6%) to close at 25,413.40.
- Sensex: Fell over 1,200 points (1.5%) to close at 82,498.
All 16 sectoral indices on the NSE ended the day lower. The Realty index fell the most (2.5%), while media, auto, FMCG, and defense stocks all dropped by more than 2%. On the BSE, sellers dominated the market as nearly 2,900 stocks declined compared to about 1,200 that advanced.
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