Washington: US spice traders are hoping for exemptions from tariffs on Indian spices under the trade deal with India to ensure that they remain available at reasonable prices for American consumers.
The US imports USD 700 million worth of spices from India every year and the trade volume is expected to increase further in the coming years.
“We are optimistic that the government will continue to support the exemption of tariffs on spices. So we hope the two countries will come together and do the best thing they can to ensure the continuation of spice supply to the US,” Donald Pratt, CEO of the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), told PTI.
Pratt’s comments came days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said negotiations for the India-US trade agreement are still underway, but both sides appear to have reached a “plateau”, with limited room for further concessions from either side.
Pratt was speaking at a reception organised by the Indian Embassy at the India House to promote Indian spices.
The ASTA and the Indian Embassy brought together spice traders as part of efforts to promote trade and help forge partnerships in the sector.
Pratt said India is a key supplier of spices to the US, besides countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, among others.
He said the spice market in the US is set to grow further as consumers discover the health benefits of various condiments.
“All of a sudden turmeric, you know, has been looked at differently. It was just curry before, but now, well, there’s turmeric tea, and people are using it differently. They’re actually nutritional supplements for turmeric as well,” Pratt said.
Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said India’s spice exports to the US have continued to grow year-on-year.
“We have reasons to believe that they will continue to expand further in the years ahead,” Kwatra said.
“We are celebrating the flavours of Indian spices at the India House in partnership with the American Spice Trade Association. It’s an effort on the part of the Indian Embassy to spread the popularity of Indian spices so that they spread far and wide to American homes,” he said.
Laura Schumov, Executive Director of the ASTA, said the trade body works closely with the Indian embassy and hoped that the India-US trade deal will provide further opportunities to forge newer business relationships.
India-US trade negotiations have been underway since February 2025, with both sides repeatedly signalling progress, but the deal remains unfinished amid unresolved differences.
In February this year, the two countries announced the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. However, changes in the tariff landscape in the US have led to further negotiations on the pact.
Speaking about the trade deal at the Munich Security Conference in New Delhi on Monday, Finance Minister Sitharaman said, “The agreement’s negotiations are still ongoing, although we like to believe that both sides have reached a plateau beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult. But maybe, if there is room to operate from, both sides would do it.”
Over the past year and a half, Indian and US negotiating teams have made multiple visits to New Delhi and Washington for successive rounds of talks on the trade deal.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently visited the US to advance talks for the deal. During his visit, Goyal held discussions on with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Following the talks, Greer said the two countries were working to finalise the trade deal, but an agreement was not imminent.