U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) traveled to India Jan. 17-19 to advocate for Montana’s pulse crops and to reaffirm the U.S.-India strategic partnership.
The trip included meetings in New Delhi with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal, members of parliament, and U.S. and Indian business leaders.
“I came to India to reaffirm our two countries’ shared values and strategic partnership and to advocate on behalf of Montana’s pulse crop farmers,” said Sen. Daines. “I appreciated Minister Goyal for listening to our farmers’ concerns and will continue to work with President Trump to press this important priority.”
Sen. Daines and U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) also sent a Jan. 16 letter to Trump emphasizing the importance of treating pulse crops favorably in future trade agreements, specifically encouraging the president to push for beneficial pulse crop provisions in any agreement the United States signs with the Republic of India.
According to the letter, North Dakota and Montana are the top two producers of pulse crops, and India is the world’s largest consumer of these crops, particularly lentils, chickpeas, dried beans, and peas.
India announced on Oct. 30, 2025, it would impose a 30-percent tariff on yellow peas. The higher duty went into effect on Nov. 1, 2025.
“As a result of the unfair Indian tariffs, U.S. pulse crop producers face a significant competitive disadvantage when exporting their high-quality product to India,” wrote the senators.
While in India last week, Sen. Daines reiterated those concerns with senior Indian officials and parliamentarians, and discussed growing U.S.-India defense cooperation, mutual efforts to secure supply chains, and the importance of the U.S.-India strategic partnership to ensure a shared security and stable and open Indo-Pacific region.
Sen. Daines also sought acceleration of the active and ongoing talks toward concluding a fair and reciprocal bilateral trade deal, according to his staff.
“As a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with extensive experience in Asia, Sen. Daines’ meetings with official and private-sector stakeholders in New Delhi were instrumental in advancing our bilateral relationship,” said U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.