Today is a very good day for the state of Washington, India has announced that they will be lifting its retaliatory tariffs on apples. The more than 1,400 apple growers will now once again have access to this $120 million market.
Overall, U.S. apple exports have plummeted since this tariff first took effect. In 2017, Washington state apple growers exported $120 million worth of product to India, compared to less than $1 million this season.Â
Jorge Sanchez, of Northern Fruit Company in East Wenatchee said, "India was a critical market for the Washington apple industry, and the tariffs hut producers of Red Delicious apples especially hard in the last few years".Â
Along with this, Washington state is the largest U.S. producer of chickpeas and the third-leading U.S. producer of lentils. Both of these have been affected by India's tariffs.
Prior to the tariffs, American growers exported $180 million worth of pulse crops to India. Now, barely $1 million in pulse crops are being exported.  Sen. Cantwell has discussed the tariffs on chickpeas and lentils and these have been lifted as well.Â
