US President Donald Trump has said that India should not “dump” (sell at cheap prices) rice in the US market and he will “deal with” the issue. Trump warned that this ‘problem’ would be easily solved by imposing tariffs. On Monday (December 8, 2025), Trump held a roundtable meeting with representatives of the farming and agriculture sector and key members of his cabinet, especially Finance Minister Scott Besant and Agriculture Minister Brook Rollins, at the ‘White House’, the official residence and office of the US President. He announced $12 billion in federal aid for farmers.

Merrill Kennedy, who runs her family’s agricultural business ‘Kennedy Rice Mill’ in Louisiana, told Trump that rice producers in the southern part of the country are ‘really struggling’ and that other countries are ‘dumping’ rice into the US market, that is, selling rice at very cheap prices.

When Trump asked which countries were selling rice to America at cheaper prices, Kennedy, sitting next to the President, replied, ‘India and Thailand; Even China is selling rice to Puerto Rico at cheap prices. Puerto Rico was once the largest market for American rice. We have not sent rice to Puerto Rico for many years. Kennedy said the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are working, “but we need to increase them further.”

Why is India allowed to do this? Why did Trump ask this?

Trump then looked at Besant and said, ‘India, tell me about India. Why is India allowed to do this? They will have to pay fees. Do they have discount on rice? To this Besant said, ‘No sir, we are currently negotiating a trade deal with them.’ Kennedy also told Trump that a case was going on against India in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trump said it could be ‘dealt with very easily.’ He said, ‘This will be solved very quickly by imposing tariffs on those countries which are sending goods illegally. Your problem will be solved in a day, so we have to win the case in the Supreme Court.

India is the world’s largest rice producing country

According to data from the ‘Indian Rice Exports Federation’, India is the world’s largest rice producing country and holds 28 percent share in the global market. It is also the top exporter, with a share of 30.3 percent in global exports in 2024-25. Among the rice varieties that India exports globally, ‘Sona Masoori’ is liked in markets like America and Australia. Trump has imposed 50 percent duty on India, which is the highest in the world. This also includes 25 percent duty on oil purchases from Russia.