Washington lawmakers seek removal of tariffs on American apples imported by India

Washington: The lawmakers from the US State of Washington have urged the Biden administration to help remove or reduce the tariffs on American apples imported to India as the country’s fruit industry has incurred significant losses due to New Delhi’s retaliatory measures.
In a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, all members of the House of Representatives from Washington State and other two senators said the tree fruit industry suffered losses due to India’s retaliation to US tariffs. On average, 30 per cent of the apples, cherries, and pears produced in the Pacific Northwest are exported and India was once a strong market. With retaliatory tariffs in place, Washington state apple growers have continuously lost market share in India, the lawmakers said. Washington state usually exports about 30 per cent of its apple crop, it said. Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, which represents the region’s tree fruit industry in public policy issues, last week discussed several key issues with the Trump administration in Washington DC, including the US trade dispute with India.
“Frankly, we didn’t hear any rays of optimism on that front,” he said. President Trump is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan next week. Once the dominant variety, most ‘Red Delicious’ apples now are exported. They made up 90 per cent of the apples shipped to India last year, Powers said. China, which has a large population, could have been another destination, had it not been involved in a trade war with the US, too, he said. If the industry is not able to find alternative export markets, those apples could end up in the domestic market and depress prices for all growers, Powers said. “When you lose a reliable and an established market, it’s very hard to force that product to other markets,” he added.
The Washington state apple industry began shipping to India in 1999. Still, India maintained a high tariff rate 50 per cent for any World Trade Organization member that ships apples to the country. The tariff on US apples now provides an opportunity for other apple-producing countries, including New Zealand and Chile, the report said. The record 2017 Washington apple crop shipments to India happened after New Delhi stopped importing apples from China, said Tori Lynn Adams, spokeswoman for the Washington Apple Commission. Even the prospect of a tariff had hurt Washington apple exports to the India market this year, she said, adding that it caused “some waves in the market”.