The American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) is pressing Washington to make tariff exemptions on Indian spices permanent as the United States and India move toward a broader trade agreement, arguing that a wide range of spices simply cannot be grown commercially on American soil. The push, articulated at an event at India House in Washington on 7 October 2026, underscores how deeply the US food industry depends on Indian agricultural exports worth nearly $700 million a year.

What the Industry Is Asking For

Donald Pratt, president of the American Spice Trade Association, said the industry's core priority is ensuring that tariff exemptions already in place for agricultural products unavailable domestically are preserved — and ultimately enshrined permanently in any final trade framework. 'For our industry, it's about the continued exemption from tariffs of agriculture that's not grown in this hemisphere and cannot be grown in this hemisphere, but that is beloved by our consumers and our business partners, worldwide,' Pratt said at the India House event.

Pratt noted that ASTA had worked closely with the Indian Embassy over the past 18 months, describing those discussions as 'open, practical, collaborative.' He said the advocacy effort had already yielded results, with most spices placed on exemption lists under Section 122 as well as Section 301 tariffs, classified as unavailable natural resources.

India's Outsized Role in the US Spice Supply Chain

India grows more than half of the 109 spices recognised by the International Organization for Standardization, according to Pratt, making it an indispensable supplier to the American market. The United States is, in turn, the largest export market for Indian spices, importing approximately $700 million worth in the last reported year.

'So we rely on India for cumin, fennel, chilies, and dozens more spices,' Pratt said. 'They season the food Americans enjoy every day.' The US, he noted, produces only a small fraction of the spices it consumes, and many varieties are tied to specific climates and growing conditions that cannot be replicated at commercial scale domestically.

Laura Schumer, executive director of ASTA, was direct about India's centrality to the supply chain. 'India is absolutely our most critical trade partner,' she said. 'Historically, we've relied so heavily on India, both for the breadth of spices, the volume of spices, and the value of spices that we import into the United States. India is our most critical trade partner, bar none.' ASTA represents approximately 100 companies that import, process, manufacture, and sell spices across the United States.

The Regulatory and Food Safety Dimension

Roberto Fanni, chair of ASTA's science and regulatory committee, said the exemptions had been secured on the straightforward basis that the United States is not a significant producer of spices, meaning tariffs would serve no protective purpose for domestic agriculture. 'There is no national production that can be pushed if there is a ban or there are tariffs for spices,' he said.

Fanni added that the trade relationship is also maturing on quality and compliance fronts. Indian producers, he said, are increasingly addressing food safety requirements from the farm level, making products more readily acceptable in the US market and creating conditions for trade volumes to expand further. 'The spice trade is definitely strategic. It's growing and it's really amazing to see how the relationship between the two countries is getting better,' he said.

Broader India-US Trade Context

This comes amid a wider effort by India and the United States to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement, with tariffs, market access, and agricultural trade among the most sensitive pressure points. Agriculture is a perennially contested domain in bilateral trade talks because policy shifts can affect domestic producers, importers, and consumers simultaneously.

ASTA's position draws a clear distinction between products that can be produced competitively in the United States and those, like most spices, that cannot — arguing that exempting the latter imposes costs on American businesses and consumers without protecting any comparable domestic industry. As negotiations advance, the spice industry's organised advocacy is likely to remain a consistent voice for maintaining, and eventually formalising, the current exemptions.