 "India is a huge exporter of corn and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has called out India for its refusal to import any US corn. File image/Reuters")
The United States continues to trade jibes and harsh words when it comes to trade relations with India.
After saying that New Delhi would apologise in two months and try to make a deal with Trump, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has launched a new trade tirade, this time using American corn as his grouse.
In an interview to Axios, Lutnick said, “India brags that they have 1.4 billion people. Why won’t 1.4 billion people buy one bushel of US corn? Doesn’t that rub you the wrong way that they sell everything to us, and they won’t buy our corn. They put tariffs on everything.”
We take a closer look at India-US corn trade and why New Delhi is averse to American-grown corn.
Lutnick on India-US corn trade
On Saturday, when asked about whether the US is mismanaging “very valuable relationships” with “important allies” like India, Canada and Brazil with the tariffs imposed on these countries, Lutnick told Axios, “The relationship is one way, they sell to us and take advantage of us. They block us from their economy, and they sell to us while we are wide open for them to come in [and] take advantage.”
“The president says, ‘fair and reciprocal trade’,” he added.
He further questioned why India, with its large population, does not import even minimal quantities of US corn despite selling extensively to the US. “India brags that they have 1.4 billion people. Why won’t 1.4 billion people buy one bushel of US corn? Doesn’t that rub you the wrong way that they sell everything to us and they won’t buy our corn. They put tariffs on everything,” Lutnick said.
The commerce secretary added, “We’ve got to right years of wrong so we want a tariff going the other way until we fix this”.
“That’s the president’s model, and you either accept it or you’re going to have a tough time doing business with the world’s greatest consumer,” Lutnick said.
Notably, this isn’t the first time that Lutnick is jibing India over its trade policies. Earlier, this month, the Trump official said that New Delhi would eventually come back to make a trade deal with Washington in a few months. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said, “So I think, yes, in a month or two months, I think India is going to be at the table and they’re going to say they’re sorry and they’re going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump.”
India’s aversion to US corn
Lutnick’s comments about India and American corn comes amid the trade discussions between the two countries. In fact, even during the trade deal talks between India and the US, one of the sticking points has been America’s export of corn to India.
India has refused to give in to the US’ demand for market access for corn, saying it does not allow import of the genetically modified (GM) variety and would not want to compromise on a “matter of principle”.
For the most part, India is self-sufficient when it comes to corn. The country is the fifth-largest corn producer — which is grown by small farmers, who need protection. On the other hand, corn from America is mostly grown by huge corporate farms. Hence, it states that it would like to protect its farmers’ interests and hence avoid American corn.
There’s also the fact that most of the corn grown in the US is genetically modified (GM). As the Indian Express reports, as much as 94 per cent of the total area planted to corn in the US last year was under genetically modified (GM) varieties. However, India doesn’t allow for import of GM grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and similar food/feed products.
Interestingly, during earlier talks between India and the US, a proposal had been mooted to allow for import of GM corn only to use as a feedstock to manufacture fuel ethanol.
But this has also been rejected by India as farmers have stated that if GM corn is allowed even for animal feed, it would give multinational corporations a backdoor into Indian agriculture — forcing small holders to rely on expensive, patented seeds, destroying the centuries-old practice of seed saving, and shifting power away from the field and into boardrooms.
Additionally, sugar mills in India are apprehensive of GM corn for ethanol. The Indian Express explains that imported GM maize will lead to the further marginalisation of sugarcane in the ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) programme.
US’ push for corn in India
But why is America pushing India to purchase its corn? Surprisingly, there’s a China angle to it.
Beijing has been shifting away from US corn ever since the beginning of its trade war with Washington. In fact, according to a Nikkei Asia report, China has not placed an order for US corn and soybeans since January 16, four days before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
Reuters shows that in 2020-2021, a record 31 per cent of US corn exports went to China, but that fell to 18 per cent by 2022-23, before dropping below six per cent in the recently concluded 2023-24 season. By contrast, less than three per cent of Brazil’s corn shipments went to China in calendar year 2022, though the share surged to 29 per cent last year.
The US also sees a huge potential market in India. India’s domestic corn consumption is expected to climb from 34.7 million tonnes (mt) in 2022-23 to 98 mt in 2040 and 200.2 mt in 2050. And to fulfil this demand, India would require to import 46 mt and 134 mt of corn. This is the opportunity that the US would like to seize before any other country can step in to fill India’s demand.
So far, India hasn’t acceded to Washington’s demands on American corn. But we will have to wait and watch to see if Lutnick’s remarks bring about a change, though it seems unlikely.
With inputs from agencies