Meetings this week between President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have borne fruit for Washington apple growers.
India, the world’s second most populous nation, has announced that it will remove tariffs on imports of American apples, lentils and chickpeas. The move is a break in the clouds that have hovered over Washington agriculture in recent years. It also demonstrates the importance of international engagement and how trade policy trickles down to average Americans.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said: “Today is a very good day for Washington’s world-famous apples and a huge boost to Washington state’s agriculture economy.” She said tariffs had “all but shut down the Indian market for Washington’s more than 1,400 apple growers.”
India once was the second-biggest export market for Washington apples, but exports fell more than 99 percent after the tariffs took effect — from $120 million in 2017 to $760,000 this season.
India’s tariffs followed President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on the import of some steel and aluminum. Designed to punish China for what was viewed as unfair trade practices, the move had broad consequences — including retaliatory tariffs from multiple nations.
The Biden administration has been slow to roll back Trump’s tariff policy, and American agriculture has suffered. As The Seattle Times wrote editorially: “The loss hit legacy family farms particularly hard. India bought mostly Red Delicious apples, a varietal whose popularity has declined domestically. Growers cannot quickly switch out trees when market appetites change.”
With Washington regarded as the nation’s most trade-dependent state, trade policy has an impact here. Our growers produce crops that feed the world, and our manufacturers are leaders in aerospace products and high-tech innovation. Meanwhile, our ports send products from Washington and other states to global markets.
As the Washington Council on International Trade writes: “With 96 percent of the world’s consumers living beyond the U.S. borders, for Washington state to truly thrive and leverage its powerful advantages, it must fully engage in the global economy.”
Both political parties in Washington, D.C., must recognize that putting America first and defending American interests requires open markets, not specious trade wars. In imposing tariffs, Trump once claimed “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” By 2020, the centrist Brookings Institution concluded that tariffs “have significantly hurt the American economy without solving the underlying economic concerns that the trade war was meant to resolve.”
Because of that, India’s decision to remove tariffs on American products — without the U.S. removing tariffs on steel — is significant. It will provide more business for growers, processors, truckers, port workers and shipping interests in our state. It also will generate competition for Washington products, pushing up demand and increasing prices.
Mark Powers, president of the Yakima-based Northwest Horticultural Council, said: “This is a win for apples. We are eager to get back to business in India, for our growers to quickly engage in rebuilding this important market, and to once again sell our high-quality, healthful apples to the consumers in India.”
Most important, it is a win for American trade and hopefully a harbinger of future developments. As the trade council says, success depends on fully engaging in the global economy.
