In June, the Trump administration revoked India’s status in the Generalized System of Preferences program, which allowed some imports like auto parts and textiles from approved countries to avoid duties. Twenty-six Democrats and 18 Republicans signed the open letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer calling for it to be restored. India was the largest user of the program—US$6.3 billion worth of exports to the U.S. in 2018 received the duty waiver. (Reuters, Press Trust of India)

Talking point: India’s retaliatory levies target food products, including walnuts and apples, as well as chickpeas and lentils. The lifting of those tariffs would remove a market opportunity for Canadian producers. India is Canada’s biggest export destination for pulses. But lentil shipments for the first half of the 2018–2019 growing year were below the five-year average amid a broader set of duties, and a pest control dispute that costs Canadian exporters five times as much in government fees as it did Indian importers, compared to twice as much for American exporters. The White House has previously resolved trade disputes following opposition from fellow Republicans, particularly those representing agricultural constituencies hurt by countermeasures. The administration is reportedly hoping to strike a “minideal” with India on pork imports and electronics tariffs by the end of September, after U.S. President Donald Trump appears with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Houston on Sunday.