The US President has vowed to take action against alleged rice dumping by India, China, and Thailand, signalling potential new trade barriers as negotiators meet in New Delhi.
President Donald Trump is threatening to slap severe new tariffs on rice imports from India, accusing the country of “dumping” cheap grain into the American market and hurting US farmers. At a White House roundtable on Monday (December 8), Trump said he’d “take care” of the problem and told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to figure out why India, which already faces 50% duties on many goods, gets to sell rice at such low prices.
Trump made the comments while announcing a $12 billion aid package for US farmers, a group he desperately needs to keep happy politically. When a Louisiana rice mill owner complained about cheap imports from Asia, Trump zeroed in on India specifically.
“Why is India allowed to do that? They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?” Trump asked, before adding, “They shouldn’t be dumping… We will end up putting very severe tariffs on that if we have to.”
The threat sent ripples through Indian markets. Shares of major rice exporters like KRBL and LT Foods took a hit on Tuesday. But here’s the thing: trade experts point out that the US is actually a tiny piece of India’s rice export business. About $392 million in FY2025, roughly 3% of the total. And most of that is premium Basmati rice that Indians living in America buy.
“Tariffs solve the problem in two minutes,” Trump told the gathering, making clear he’d rather impose trade barriers than negotiate. “I heard that from others. You can’t do that [dump rice].”
Dev Garg, Vice President of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation, pushed back hard on the dumping claims. “Indian rice exports to the US are entirely market-driven… mainly premium Basmati varieties that do not compete directly with US-grown rice,” he said.
This latest threat just adds more tension to an already strained trade relationship. Back in August, the Trump administration threw a blanket 50% tariff on various Indian goods, citing market access problems and India’s continued oil purchases from Russia. The timing is awkward too, since a US Trade Representative delegation is literally in New Delhi right now trying to hammer out a bilateral trade deal.
India dominates global rice trade with a 40% market share, but the US is really just a niche market for high-end aromatic varieties. Experts say any new tariffs would probably hurt American consumers more than Indian farmers, because US farms can’t just start producing the specific Basmati varieties people want.
Negotiators from both countries are supposed to meet on December 10 and 11. Indian officials are still hoping for a breakthrough, but Trump’s aggressive talk suggests rice is now going to be a major sticking point in any deal. Trump also hinted at similar moves against Canadian fertilizer, showing he’s ready to use tariffs as leverage across multiple sectors.
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