Overview
- Industry leaders and the Indian Embassy met at India House on Wednesday to press US negotiators to continue and codify tariff exemptions for Indian spices as trade talks proceed.
- The American Spice Trade Association says the United States imported about $700 million of spices from India last year and that India supplies more than half of ISO‑recognized spices the US market relies on.
- ASTA argues many spices cannot be grown at scale in the United States, so new tariffs would raise costs for consumers and food manufacturers without protecting a domestic industry.
- ASTA built the case over the past 18 months and points to prior wins, saying most spices were included on Section 122 and Section 301 exemption lists last year as a precedent but not a guarantee.
- If exemptions are preserved or written into a deal, consumers could avoid higher prices and supply chains could keep sourcing key spices from India as producers improve traceability and safety practices.