 "In a Jan 16 letter to Trump, Senators Steve Daines and Kevin Cramer said Montana and North Dakota are the top US pulse producers, while India is the world’s largest consumer, accounting for about 27 per cent of global demand.")
US lawmakers from major pulse-producing states have urged President Donald Trump to step in. They want him to address India’s steep import duties. They say the trade restrictions are hurting American farmers and putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
Senators Kevin Cramer and Steve Daines, representing North Dakota and Montana, wrote to Trump urging him to seek “favourable” provisions for pulse crops in any trade agreement with India. The two states are leading producers of pulses, including peas, while India is the world’s largest consumer of these crops.
Impact of India’s import duty
The senators said US producers were hit after New Delhi imposed a 30 per cent duty last year on yellow peas. They argued that the move had reduced the competitiveness of American exports to India. “As a result of unfair Indian tariffs, US pulse crop producers face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting high-quality product to India,” the senators wrote.
Cramer and Daines claimed that Trump had previously helped bring American farmers into discussions with India’s leadership. They said Trump in 2020 had nudged Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards agreeing to put US farmers “on the table”.
Economic cooperation highlighted
The senators said American producers had the capacity to supply global markets if trade barriers were eased.
“They have tremendous capacity to feed and fuel the world if trade opportunities are unleashed. Engaging PM Modi on pulse crop tariffs to enhance the economic cooperation between our countries would be mutually beneficially to both American producers and Indian customers,” they wrote.
India and the US are currently “actively engaged” in talks for a bilateral trade agreement. However, Trump had last year imposed 50 per cent tariffs, including a penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian crude oil. India has also drawn a red line over certain sectors, particularly agricultural and dairy imports.
Quick Reads
View AllEarlier this week, US ambassador Sergio Gor said issues between New Delhi and Washington would be resolved soon, describing the two countries as “real friends”.