Apple sales to India rebounding after tariffs lifted

MATTAWA — The end of tariffs on Washington apples sold to India has resulted in a significant rebound of sales in that country. The announcement that tariffs would be lifted was made in June 2023; they were actually removed in September 2023. 

The 20% tariff was imposed on U.S. agricultural products in retaliation for tariffs on steel imposed by the then-Trump Administration in 2018. 

The U.S. tariffs on Indian steel were removed as well.

Prior to the tariff being lifted, it was essentially a tariff of 70%, according to Washington Apple Commission International Marketing Specialist Jennie Strong in an interview in April. 

“Washington state apple growers saw their market share drop from 53% to less than 1%. With the tariff lifted, India is once again a viable export market for Washington apples. This was a huge win for the industry,” she said at the time.

Prior to the tariffs India had been a reliable market for Washington apples. According to information from the Northwest Horticultural Council, apple exports to India accounted for about $120 million in sales in 2017. That dropped to about $760,000 in 2022.

The 2023 crop has fared much better on the subcontinent. NHC reports that Washington growers shipped about 2.2 million boxes of apples to India as of mid-June. That is, said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D–Washington, an increase of about 4,200% over the previous year.

Cantwell and other members of the Washington Congressional Delegation worked to get the tariffs lifted, and she said it was a good move for both sides.

“This is a win for the 68,000 workers in the Washington apple industry and India’s 1.4-billion-person market. We want to continue to strengthen our trade relationship with India, expand access to global markets for our growers and bring delicious Washington apples to grocery stores worldwide,” Cantwell said. 

Some apple varieties, Red Delicious among them, sold well in India, Cantwell said in an earlier interview, and the tariffs shut off a valuable market.

Cantwell contacted both Trump Administration and Biden Administration officials over a period of about four years, asking about tariffs and about getting rid of them. Tariffs also were also imposed on Washington peas and lentils. 

While Cantwell and others worked to get the apple tariff lifted, Congress was working on other programs. Those initiatives included a push to encourage research and manufacturing of the next generation of computer technology. Cantwell was a sponsor of some of the important legislation, and said it changed the situation in various ways.

“India really wanted to be a partner in all of that,” she said. 

But it was, she said, important to resolve some of the existing conflicts before making new agreements, and she told Indian officials that. 

“That’s when we really put a full court press on,” she said.