India lifts duty on U.S. peas and lentils

India is removing the additional duties it has been charging on U.S. peas and lentils since 2018. The 10 percent additional duty on U.S. chickpeas and 20 percent on U.S. lentils were part of a retaliatory package of tariffs in response to the U.S. increasing duties on certain steel and aluminum products from India. “After nearly six challenging years of trade disruption, we welcome the opportunity to compete fairly in the Indian market,” Aaron Flansburg, chair of the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, said in a news release. “This move will certainly help our farmers grow more pulses, one of the most sustainable crops worldwide.” The U.S. was shipping 300,000 to 350,000 tonnes of pulses to India annually prior to the tariffs. That trade has completely evaporated. Half of the volume was lentils and chickpeas, while the other half was peas, which India stopped importing around the same time as the lentil and chickpea tariffs were imposed. The council said the United States now has the ...