WASHINGTON, Dec 9: US President Donald Trump has warned that his administration may impose new tariffs on agricultural imports, particularly rice from India and fertilisers from Canada, as trade negotiations with both countries show little progress.

Trump made the remarks during a White House meeting at which he announced a multi-billion-dollar relief package for American farmers, while intensifying his criticism of agricultural imports from India and other Asian countries. The Republican leader said rising imports were hurting domestic producers and reaffirmed his willingness to use tariffs aggressively to protect American farmers.

Addressing farmers, lawmakers and senior cabinet officials, Trump said the administration would provide $12 billion in economic assistance to the agricultural sector, funded by tariff revenues collected from US trading partners. “We’re really taking in trillions of dollars, if you think about it,” he said, adding that other countries had “taken advantage of us like nobody’s ever seen.”

He said the aid package was necessary to stabilise the farm economy amid inherited inflation and persistently low commodity prices. “Farmers are an indispensable national asset, part of the backbone of America,” Trump said, stressing that tariffs remain a key tool in his strategy to revive US agriculture.

India featured prominently in the discussion, particularly over rice imports, which a Louisiana producer described as having a devastating impact on farmers in the southern United States.