US President Donald Trump has indicated that his administration is prepared to impose fresh tariffs on a new set of agricultural imports — including Canadian fertiliser and Indian rice — following escalating concerns from American farmers about cheap foreign products flooding the domestic market. According to Bloomberg, Trump made the remarks during a White House roundtable where he announced a $12-billion bailout package intended to support farmers hurt by trade disruptions and falling commodity prices.
At the meeting, farmers warned that low-priced, subsidised rice imported from abroad is hitting the US market so aggressively that American producers are struggling to keep up. They said that foreign governments, especially in Asia, were using subsidies to sell rice below cost, pushing down domestic prices and wiping out profits for American growers. Trump backed their claims, saying “they’re cheating” and adding that he would not hesitate to respond with tariffs if the allegations proved true.
Trump also suggested that agricultural imports beyond rice were now under review. He hinted that fertiliser entering the US from Canada may soon face steep duties, arguing that protecting domestic fertiliser producers was necessary to ensure supply security and strengthen the agricultural sector. “Severe tariffs” were “on the table,” he said.
During the discussion, the President directly asked farmers which countries they believed were responsible for dumping rice on the American market. Meryl Kennedy, CEO of Kennedy Rice Mill in Louisiana, cited India, Thailand, and China as the main offenders. She added that China was directing subsidised shipments into Puerto Rico rather than the continental US — a region previously dominated by American suppliers.
Kennedy told Trump that “us in the South are really struggling”, urging him to intensify enforcement. “The tariffs are working, but we need to double down,” she said. Trump reacted with surprise but agreed with the premise, telling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to write down the names of the countries mentioned. Bessent repeated India, Thailand and China as the primary culprits, and noted that more countries could be added to the list after further investigation. Trump responded by promising the farmers that he would “take care” of the situation swiftly.
Meanwhile, both Canada and India have been pushing for greater economic stability in their trade relationships with Washington, but official discussions have shown limited progress in recent months. Tensions remain especially high between the US and India following Trump’s decision in August to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Indian exports. At the time, the administration justified the move by accusing New Delhi of erecting trade barriers and continuing its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil.
Now, with new tariff threats looming, high-level negotiations are set to resume between New Delhi and Washington. A senior delegation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, led by Deputy USTR Rick Switzer, will travel to India on December 10 and 11 for another round of Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) talks. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal will head the Indian negotiating team and has said that New Delhi remains “very optimistic” and “very hopeful” of concluding the first phase of the BTA before the end of the year.
The next few weeks could determine whether the two nations de-escalate their trade differences — or slide deeper into a tariff standoff driven by mounting pressure from US farmers and an increasingly protective White House.
