By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday has hinted at imposing new tariffs on agricultural imports, particularly Indian rice and Canadian fertilizers.
It came after the trade discussions between the two countries progressing slowly.
Trump’s remarks came at a meeting in the White House after he unveiled a USD 12 billion support package for American farmers.
He added that the imports were posing a challenge for domestic producers and reiterated his intent to address this issue.
Trump said he would “take care” of Indian rice being allegedly dumped into the US and added that American farmers have flagged their concerns about the falling rice prices, claiming that the rice imports from countries like India, Thailand, and Vietnam are undercutting their crops.
“They shouldn’t be dumping. I mean, I heard that; I heard that from others. You can’t do that,” he said.
The US president also hinted at imposing fresh tariffs on Canadian fertilizers.
“A lot of it does come in from Canada, and so we’ll end up putting very severe tariffs on that, if we have to, because that’s the way you want to bolster here. And we can do it here. We can all do that here.”
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the new US Deputy Ambassador for Trade, Rick Switzer, will be visiting India on the 10th and 11th of December.
“This visit is a familiarization visit, as well as to meet with senior officials in the government of India. As you are aware, both governments remain engaged with a view to concluding a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial multi-sectoral financial trade agreement,” he added.
Several rounds of discussions have already taken place between both sides.
