The US president has said he intends to take action after American farmers accused New Delhi of distorting the market
US President Donald Trump has signaled more punitive tariffs on India after accusing it of “dumping” rice into the American market. The threat comes amid talks for a trade deal with New Delhi.
Trump’s hint of new tariffs came on Monday at a White House meeting with farmers, who claimed India and Canada are dumping rice and fertilizers in the US, stifling competition.
“Why is India allowed to do that?” Trump asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?”
Trump was told in the meeting that the two largest brands in the retail rice market in the US were Indian.
“All right, and we’ll take care of it,” he said. “That’s great. It’s so easy… Tariffs, again, solves the problem in two minutes.”
‘India, Thailand, China – Those Are The Main Culprits’ – Trump Advised That Countries Are ‘Dumping’ Rice Into The US, Vows More Tariffs pic.twitter.com/n7bLHjzOjf
“They shouldn’t be dumping… I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can’t do that,” Trump added.
The South Asian nation is the world’s largest producer of rice and also the top exporter, with a 30.3% share of global exports in 2024-2025, Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) data showed.
India’s rice exports to the US in the financial year 2024 amounted to 234,000 tons.
The US produces less than 2% of the world’s rice, but it is also a major exporter, accounting for nearly 5% of the annual volume of global rice trade. The US imports around 1.3 million tons.
The US has slapped 50% tariffs on India, citing trade barriers, comprising 25% as reciprocal levies and the rest as a punitive measure for New Delhi’s continued imports of oil from Russia.
Trump’s latest threat also comes as the US under secretary of state for political affairs, Allison Hooker, is in India to stabilize ties in the aftermath of tariffs.
India is optimistic that a trade pact with the US can be reached by the end of the year, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, India’s chief negotiator in trade talks, said in November.
The US is India’s largest export market and accounted for exports worth $52 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to reports.
