US lawmakers push Trump to seek tariff relief on Indian pulse imports

India and the US are “actively engaged” in discussions for a bilateral trade agreement

US senators have urged President Donald Trump to push India to drop its 30 percent duties and other such curbs imposed on pulse crops as American farmers are facing a “significant disadvantage” because of such restrictions on imports.

Senators Kevin Cramer and Steve Daines, lawmakers from North Dakota and Montana, in a letter dated January 16 encouraged Trump for “favourable” pulse crop provisions in any trade deal with India.

The senators said North Dakota and Montana are the top producers of pulse crops, including peas and India is the world’s largest consumer of these crops. However, American producers were adversely affected after New Delhi imposed a 30 percent duty last year on yellow peas.

“As a result of unfair Indian tariffs, US pulse crop producers face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting high-quality product to India,” the senators wrote.

Cramer and Daines claimed that Trump in 2020 had helped nudge PM Modi towards agreeing to bringing American farmers “on the table”.

D.C. - DELHI DRIFT IS DEEPER AND THE SOONER INDIA FACTORS THIS THE BETTER IT IS FOR US.

Now, US Senators urging Trump to force India to scrap its 30% duty on yellow peas. Besides further complicating trade talks this exposes a deeper Delhi–Washington disconnect. The demand… pic.twitter.com/3gzizVOJI8 — Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) January 17, 2026

“They have tremendous capacity to feed and fuel the world if trade opportunities are unleashed. Engaging PM Modi on pulse crop tariffs to enhance the economic cooperation between our countries would be mutually beneficially to both American producers and Indian customers,” the senators wrote in the letter.

India and the US are “actively engaged” in discussions for a bilateral trade agreement. However, Trump had last year imposed 50 percent tariffs, including a penalty of 25 percent for purchasing Russian crude oil. New Delhi has also drawn a red line over certain sectors, especially imports related to the agricultural and dairy products.

Earlier this week, however, US ambassador Sergio Gor indicated that issues between “real friends” New Delhi and Washington will be resolved soon.