Trump targets India over alleged rice dumping, says tariffs will fix issue

US President Donald Trump has 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 easilyTrump 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 announced USD 12 billion in federal aid for farmersMeryl Kennedy who runs her familys agribusiness Kennedy Rice Mill in Louisiana told Trump that rice producers in the southern part of the country are really struggling and that other nations are dumping rice into the USWhen asked by Trump which countries are dumping rice into America 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 havent shipped rice into Puerto Rico in yearsKennedy said that this has been happening for years and did not start during the Trump administration But unfortunately were seeing it in a much bigger way now she said She said that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are working but we need to double down to which Trump said You want more I understandTrump 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 were still working on their trade deal Bessent replied Trump then said But they shouldnt be dumping I mean I heard that I heard that from others They cant do thatKennedy then told Trump theres a World Trade Organisation case against India Trump asked Kennedy to give him the names of the countries dumping rice into the US and instructed Bessent to note down the names India Who else Trump saidIndia 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 tradeTrump said this will be so easy to settleIts solved so quickly with tariffs to these countries that are illegally shipping Its solved Your problem is solved in one day Thats why we have to win the Supreme Court case he said adding that this problem will be solved in one dayLower courts in the US have ruled that Trumps use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on nations around the world is illegal and the case will now be decided by the Supreme CourtIts so unfair They go out of business They put everyone out of business Trump saidTrump 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 USIts the same thing with rice Itll 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 the president saidKennedy then 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 IndiansWell take care of it Its so easy Trump saidIndia is the largest producer of rice 150 million tonnes and has a 28 per cent share of the global market It is also the top exporter with a 303 per cent share of global exports in 20242025 Indian Rice Exporters Federation IREF data showsAccording to information on the website of the India Brand Equity Foundation IBEF India exported about 234 lakh tonnes of rice to the US in the 2024 fiscal less than 5 per cent of its total global basmati rice exports of 524 lakh tonnesWest Asia remains the dominant destination for Indian rice it saidAmong the rice varieties that India exports globally Sona Masoori is preferred in markets such as the US and AustraliaTrump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India the highest in the world including 25 per cent for Delhis purchases of Russian oilIndian Rice Exporters Federation National President Prem Garg had termed the 25 per cent reciprocal tariff as a temporary hurdle for rice shipments and had stated that India still retains a pricing advantage over competitors like Vietnam and PakistanThis tariff is a temporary hurdle not a longterm roadblock With strategic planning diversification and flexibility Indian rice exporters can protect and even expand their presence in the US market Garg had said earlier this yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever