Will Dal Derail Trade Deal? Trump Gets Letter Over India's 30% Pulse Tariff

Talks on the India-US trade agreement can once again hit a snag, with pulses emerging as a fresh bone of contention this time. At least two US lawmakers have urged President Donald Trump to push India to remove the 30 per cent import duty on American pulses, saying American producers face a "significant competitive disadvantage" due to what they described as "unfair" tariffs imposed by New Delhi. 

India's move, which came after the Trump administration imposed punitive 50 per cent tariffs on trade with New Delhi, is likely to further complicate the US-India trade deal talks.

What Did The Letter Say? 

In the letter, Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota noted their states are the top two producers of pulse crops, including peas, while India is the world's largest consumer, accounting for about 27 per cent of global consumption.

Lentils, chickpeas, dried beans and peas are among the most commonly consumed pulse crops in India, but New Delhi has imposed substantial tariffs on American exports in these categories. The US lawmakers said that India, on October 30 last year, announced a 30 per cent tariff on yellow peas, which came into effect on November 1, 2025.

"As a result of the unfair Indian tariffs, US pulse crop producers face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting their high-quality product to India," the letter said.

The lawmakers advised Trump that engaging Prime Minister Narendra Modi on pulse crop tariffs to enhance the economic cooperation between the two countries would be "mutually beneficial" for both American producers and Indian consumers.

The senators thanked Trump for his efforts to secure a favourable economic environment for agricultural producers in North Dakota and Montana and said that as trade negotiations move forward, they encourage him to seek favourable pulse crop provisions in any agreement the US signs with India.

They also recalled that during Trump's first term, they had raised the issue ahead of the 2020 trade negotiations with India and that the President had "hand-delivered" their letter to PM Modi, which they said helped bring US producers to the negotiating table.

"As the United States looks to rebalance trade disparities, American farmers are ready to help fill the gap. They have tremendous capacity to feed and fuel the world if trade opportunities are unleashed," the lawmakers said in the letter.

In their 2020 letter, written ahead of Trump's visit to India that year, the senators had said that "unfair" Indian tariffs on pulse crops had substantially harmed US pulse crop producers, particularly after India was removed from the Generalised System of Preferences in June 2019, following which additional duties were imposed on American exports.