U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is ratcheting up pressure on India, warning that it could lose access to the American market unless it agrees to purchase U.S.-grown corn — a hardline stance as the two countries prepare to restart sensitive trade talks.
“India Brags that they have 1.4 Billion people… why won’t they buy one bushel of corn from us? Doesn’t that rub you the wrong way? President says bring down the tariffs…we have to right years of wrong. You either accept it or you are going to have a tough time doing business with the world’s greatest consumer,” Lutnick raged on the Axios Show over the weekend.
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Indian officials cite several reasons New Delhi does not buy American corn: India is the world’s fifth-largest producer and is largely self-sufficient, even exporting in some years; most U.S. corn is genetically modified, and India does not allow GM crop imports (except for cotton); and New Delhi argues it has the right to shield its own agricultural sector—which employs some 500 million people—from competition with heavily subsidized foreign agriculture.
“They sell to us, they take advantage of us. They block us from their economy. We are wide open for them to come in and take advantage of us,” Lutnick said.
Bilateral trade between India and the United States totaled $131.8 billion in 2024–25, with India exporting $86.5 billion in goods to the U.S. and importing $45.3 billion, according to News18. But negotiations on a broader trade deal remain stalled, largely over Washington’s demands that New Delhi open its sensitive agricultural and dairy sectors.
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The Trump administration has escalated the standoff with sweeping penalties — imposing a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods and tacking on an additional 25 percent levy tied to India’s Russian oil purchases. Combined, the measures lift duties on Indian exports to 50 percent, among the steepest rates applied by the U.S. to any trading partner.
In response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has eased some domestic taxes, urged citizens to rely more on local production, and tapped the Reserve Bank of India for liquidity measures to bolster jobs and growth. At the same time, New Delhi is working to diversify its export markets to reduce reliance on the U.S. amid the tariff squeeze.