Washington DC: US president Donald Trump has now accused India of “dumping” rice into the American market and said that he would “take care” of it.
Trump also claimed that tariffs would easily solve the “problem” during a roundtable in the White House 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, on Monday.
Meryl Kennedy, who runs her family’s 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 US, Hindustan Times has reported.
When Trump asked which countries are dumping rice into America, Kennedy replied, “India, Thailand, and 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.”
The issue has been ongoing for years and did not begin during the Trump administration, Kennedy apparently said and added: “But unfortunately, we’re seeing it in a much bigger way now.”
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 understand”.
The US 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 then told Trump there’s a World Trade Organisation case against India.
Trump is then reported to have instructed Bessent to note down the names. This will be “so easy to settle”, he said.
“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,” the Republican leader said, adding that this problem will be solved in “one day”.
Trump has already imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India, the highest in the world. This includes a 25% penalty for India’s purchase of Russian crude.
While lower courts in the US have ruled that Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on nations worldwide is illegal, the final decision is pending at the Supreme Court of that country. A US delegation is expected to visit India this week for further talks, although no major breakthrough is anticipated.
India is the largest producer of rice, with 150 million tonnes, and holds a 28% share of the global market. It is also the top exporter, with a 30.3 per cent share of global exports in 2024-2025, according to Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) data.
According to information on the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) website, India exported approximately 2.34 lakh tonnes of rice to the US in the 2024 fiscal year, which is less than 5 per cent of its total global basmati rice exports of 52.4 lakh tonnes.
