Bangladesh, Dec. 9 -- US President Donald Trump has once again placed India at the center of Americas escalating trade battles, this time accusing New Delhi of “dumping” rice into the US market and signaling that new tariffs could soon follow. The remarks, made during a White House meeting with American farmers on December 8, have injected fresh uncertainty into already delicate trade negotiations between the worlds largest democracy and its most powerful economy.

The farmers who met with the president alleged that India – along with Canada – was distorting the US market by selling rice and fertilizers at artificially low prices. Trump, who has consistently positioned himself as a defender of US agricultural inter...