The issue of corn is likely to stall India-US trade talks

18-Sep-2025 08:52 PM

New Delhi. The US has sent a delegation to India to advance bilateral trade talks, but there is little prospect of significant progress or meaningful results.

The issue of corn has been a stalemate, and will continue to be. The US wants India to fully open its market to its GM corn, while India remains firm on its long-standing decision not to allow its import. The import, use, and trade of GM food crops is banned in India.

Available data shows that India imported a total of 970,000 tons of corn in 2024-25, of which US corn accounted for only 1,100 tons. India primarily prefers corn imports from Myanmar and Ukraine, where non-GM or traditional corn varieties are produced.

The negligible import of US corn into India has hindered comprehensive bilateral trade talks. Talks between the two sides resumed recently in New Delhi, where the issue of corn was raised prominently.

In fact, the issue of maize is no longer limited to food purposes but has also reached the diplomatic level. The US can consider its failure to persuade India to buy maize as a diplomatic failure.

Only non-GM maize is imported into India. Under this tariff rate quota system, imports of up to 500,000 tons of maize are permitted at a concessional customs duty of 15 percent, while imports exceeding this amount are subject to a hefty 50 percent duty. Furthermore, there is a strict ban on the import of GM maize, which is produced in large quantities in the US.