Trump signals action on Indian rice ‘dumping’

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (India time) hinted at fresh tariffs on Indian rice, as a delegation led by Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer arrived in New Delhi to assess the proposed trade deal between the two countries.

- SHREYA NANDI

“They shouldn't be dumping. I mean, I heard that from others. You can’t do that,” Trump said, adding that he would ‘take care’ of the alleged dumping of the commodity in the American market.

Trump was speaking at a White House event unveiling $12 billion in fresh support for American 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 country are ‘really struggling’ and that countries, including India, are ‘dumping’ rice into the US.

He further said that America lost half of its car and chip industries because these products were being manufactured in other countries, and previous administrations did not impose tariffs on these imports. “It's the same thing with rice. It'll be good and will get 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.”