India-US trade deal: American senators write to Trump, urge him to press Modi on lowering tariffs on pulses

As negotiations over the India-US trade deal drag on due to several contentious issues like greater access to US dairy and agriculture products, the pulses or dal may become another bone of contention between the two sides after two American senators wrote to Presiident Doanld Trump to push New Delhi to quash a 30 per cent import duty on the US pulses.

In a letter dated 16 January, senators Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Steve Daines of Montana urged Trump to take up the issue of "favourable pulses crop provision" in future agreements between Washington and New Delhi, saying that the US pulse crop producers face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting their high-quality product to India.

The letter brought India's countermeasures against Trump's punitive 50 per cent tariffs to light as it went unnoticed by the media. New Delhi announced additional tariffs on US crops after the US President's escalated levies took effect in late August.

India announced on October 30, 2025, that it would impose a 30 per cent tariff on yellow peas. The higher duty went into effect on November 1, 2025. As a result of the unfair Indian tariffs, US pulse crop producers could face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting their high-quality product to India, the letter reads.

The senators mentioned their earlier letter on the same issue during Trump's first term, which he hand-delivered to Prime Minister Modi during the 2020 trade negotiatiation leading to bringing "US producers to the table".

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The lawmaker pointed out that India, being the largest consumer of these crops, with around 27 per cent of the world's consumption, can be advantageous for the American farmers by exporting these commodities and "can boost trade disparities with the US."

India faced some of the highest levies imposed by Trump. Initially hit with a 25 per cent tariff, the United States doubled the duty to 50 per cent in August 2025, adding a punitive surcharge linked to New Delhi’s continued Russian oil imports. The 50 per cent rate applies to key exports including textiles, gems and jewellery, footwear, furniture and chemicals, while sectors such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, tea, coffee and spices have received exemptions.