Agriculture: The US may impose tariffs on rice imports from India
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Failing to push in America’s farm and dairy products into India, US President Donald Trump may now impose a tariff on rice imports from the South Asian country.
He said that India should not be “dumping” rice into the United States market and he will “take care” of it, while stressing that tariffs will solve the “problem” easily, the media reported on Tuesday.
He held a roundtable in the White House on Monday with representatives of the farming and agriculture sector as well as key members of his cabinet, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
He also announced USD 12 billion in federal aid for farmers.
Meryl Kennedy, who runs her family’s agribusiness, Kennedy Rice Mill, in Louisiana, told Trump that rice producers in the southern part of the US are “really struggling” and that other nations are “dumping” rice into the US.
When Trump asked her to name the countries, Kennedy, sitting next to the President, replied, “India, and Thailand; even China into Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico used to be one of the largest markets for US rice. We haven’t shipped rice into Puerto Rico in years.”
She said that this has been happening for years; it did not start during the Trump administration. “But unfortunately, we’re seeing it in a much bigger way now.”
Kennedy said that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are working, “but we need to double down”, to which Trump said, “You want more, I understand.”
The President then turned to Bessent and said, “India, tell me about India. Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?” “No sir, we’re still working on their trade deal,” Bessent replied.
Trump then said, “But they shouldn’t be dumping. I mean, I heard that. I heard that from others. They can’t do that.”
Kennedy told Trump there’s a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case against India.
The President instructed Bessent to note down the names. “India. Who else?” He asked.
“India, Thailand, China into Puerto Rico, not into the continental US, but into Puerto Rico. Those are the main culprits,” Kennedy said, adding that American farmers can feed the US as well as nations around the world, but “we need fair trade, not free trade.”
Trump said this will be “so easy to settle.”
“It’s solved so quickly with tariffs to these countries that are illegally shipping. It’s solved. Your problem is solved in one day. That’s why we have to win the Supreme Court case,” he said.
Lower courts in the US have ruled that Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on nations around the world is illegal, and the case will now be decided by the Supreme Court.
“It’s so unfair. They go out of business. They put everyone out of business,” Trump said.
The President also said that America lost half of its car industry and chip industry because these products were being manufactured in other countries, and previous administrations did not impose tariffs on these imports into the US.
“It’s the same thing with rice. It’ll be good, will get it solved very quickly. We just need the countries. Just give us the names of the countries. Tariffs, again. It solves the problem in two minutes.”
Kennedy said that they have “bought” the largest brands at retail, too, so they have an incentive to subsidise their products. When Trump asked, “Who did that?” she said, “Indians.”
“We’ll take care of it. It’s so easy,” Trump said.
India is the world’s largest producer of rice—150 million tonnes per annum—and has a 28 percent share of the global market. It is also the top exporter, with a 30.3 percent share of global exports in 2024–2025, Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) data shows.
According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India exported about only 2.34 lakh tonnes of rice to the US in the 2024 fiscal, less than 5 percent of its total global basmati rice exports of 52.4 lakh tonnes.
West Asia remains the dominant destination for Indian rice, it said.
Among the rice varieties that India exports globally, Sona Masoori is preferred in markets such as the US and Australia.
Trump has imposed a 50 percent tariff on India, the highest in the world, including 25 percent for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Indian Rice Exporters Federation National President Prem Garg had termed the 25 percent reciprocal tariff as a temporary “hurdle” for rice shipments and had stated that India still retains a pricing advantage over competitors like Vietnam and Pakistan.
“This tariff is a temporary hurdle, not a long-term roadblock. With strategic planning, diversification, and flexibility, Indian rice exporters can protect and even expand their presence in the US market,” he had said earlier this year.
