Trump Vows Tariffs to Stop India 'Dumping' Rice in US Market

New Delhi/Chennai: Ahead of the “familiarisation” two-day visit of United States deputy trade representative Rick Switzer to India starting Wednesday to discuss a potential trade pact between the two nations, US President Donald Trump fired another salvo at India by threatening to impose tariffs on Indian rice. Notwithstanding the US President’s new rice tariff threat, Indian rice exporters are unperturbed, as their market is well-diversified.

According to reports, at a White House roundtable called to discuss problems of the American farm sector, representatives of the sector complained to the US President that India and Thailand are dumping rice into the United States market.

A furious US President, reportedly, then turned to treasury secretary Scott Bessent and demanded that India should pay tariffs on rice exports to the US. Mr Trump was quoted as saying, “India, tell me about India. Why is India allowed to do that… They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?… But they shouldn't be dumping. I mean, I heard that. I heard that from others. They can't do that.”

The US treasury secretary tried to explain to Mr Trump that the two nations are negotiating a trade pact, but that apparently failed to pacify him. Farm sector representatives also pointed out to the US President that there was a WTO case on India for this. They also accused China of dumping rice into the Latin American nation Puerto Rico, which, according to them, used to source all its rice imports from the US earlier.

According to reports, the US President remarked that he will “take care” of the problem and that tariffs “can easily resolve” the situation. This comes even as the US has already imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on India in August this year, half of which is a penalty for buying Russian oil.

While India and the US are still negotiating a bilateral trade agreement and agricultural imports continue to be a stalemate, Mr Trump mentioned new tariffs during a White House meeting where he unveiled $12 billion in new support for American farmers. Farmers had complained of falling rice prices, claiming imports from countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand are undercutting their crops.

In FY25, India exported basmati rice worth $337.10 million to the US, which was the fourth largest market for Indian basmati rice. India exported non-basmati rice valued at $54.64 million, making the US the 24th largest market. Indian rice in the US is predominantly consumed by communities of Gulf and subcontinent ethnicity, and demand continues to expand steadily, said the Indian Rice Exporters Federation. Prior to the recent tariff increase of 50 per cent, Indian rice faced a tariff of 10 per cent in the US market.

“The Indian rice export industry is resilient and globally competitive,” said Indian Rice Exporters Federation vice-president Dev Garg. “While the US is an important destination, India’s rice exports are well-diversified across global markets. The federation, in close coordination with the government of India, continues to deepen existing trade partnerships and open new markets for Indian rice.”

GTRI also finds that India need not worry over the threat. “Mr Trump’s threat on December 8 to impose new tariffs on Indian rice, announced alongside a US farm relief package, looks driven more by domestic politics than by trade logic. India should read this as election-season messaging to US farmers — not a serious policy shift — and avoid offering concessions to a threat that hurts US consumers more than Indian producers,” it said.