US lawmakers urge Trump to seek lower Indian tariffs on pulse crops in trade talks
New York/Washington (PTI): Two US lawmakers have urged President Donald Trump to push for favourable provisions for pulse crop in any future trade deal with India, saying American producers face a "significant competitive disadvantage" due to what they described as "unfair” tariffs imposed by New Delhi.
In a letter dated Jan 16 addressed to Trump, Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said 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.
They noted that 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.
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The Senators pointed out that India announced on October 30 last year 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.
Daines and Cramer said 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.
Thanking Trump for his efforts to secure a favourable economic environment for agricultural producers in North Dakota and Montana, the Senators 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 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 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.
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No confusion in BJP-JD(S) alliance: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday dismissed speculation over confusion in the BJP-JD(S) alliance, asserting that there was clarity within them and that discussions on the chief minister post were premature.
Addressing reporters at the party's state office, JP Bhavan, after chairing a preparatory meeting for the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections, he said the immediate priority was to remove what he termed an "anti-people government" in the state and to strengthen the alliance to face upcoming polls.
"This is not the time to discuss who should become the chief minister. There is still time for that. If we speak about it now, it would be like stitching the cradle even before the baby is born," Kumaraswamy said, underlining that leadership questions would be taken up at an appropriate time.
The JD(S) second-in-command said there is still a lot of work to be done and it was not appropriate to speak about such matters now.
"On the issue of alliance, both I and our party are open-minded. When the time comes, we will discuss it on the party platform and take a decision. There is no confusion regarding the alliance, and there will be no confusion in the future. This is my stand," Kumaraswamy said.
"There is a bad government in the state. My objective is to remove it and bring in a pro-people government. Removing this corrupt and bad government is my agenda. The JD(S) and BJP parties will work together to accomplish this task," he added.
Reiterating his stand, Kumaraswamy said, "My objective is to remove the anti-people government in the state. I have been saying this from the beginning."
On reports of internal differences over the alliance and the CM's position, the union minister said he would not respond to every statement made by individuals.
"Some people are speaking about the alliance and the chief minister's position. I do not feel the need to respond to them. If I start answering each of them, people may think I lack maturity. Therefore, I will not speak about it. We will strengthen the alliance together, face the elections together, and bring a pro-people government," he said.
Kumaraswamy added that discussions within parties were natural and not final.
He said there were still two years left for the Assembly elections while there were four to five months left for the local body elections.
The union minister said the JD(S) is also preparing for the municipal elections in Bengaluru city just as other parties.
He clarified that there had been no discussions so far between the two parties specifically on local body or GBA elections.
Earlier, the JD(S) leader chaired a meeting with Members of the Legislative Council, former MLAs and other leaders of his party to review preparations for the GBA elections.
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