India’s share of exports to the US remained largely unchanged despite a year of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs and New Delhi’s efforts to diversify its trade with a raft of new deals with other countries.
An analysis of trade ministry data for the 12 months through July shows the US continues to account for about 20% of India’s exports.
The uncertainty in US-India trade relations prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to expedite free trade negotiations with other major markets. In the past year, India has inked a trade deal with the UK, which took effect in July, as well as agreements with the European Union, Oman and New Zealand. with exporters scouting newer markets to reduce risk, the US share has remained resilient, underscoring the difficulty of replacing the world’s largest economy While that diversification push has continued. “And from that perspective, I think it’s a very good lesson the US tariff war taught us. The sheer scale and appetite of the US for a broad range of Indian goods make it a uniquely important market, particularly for electronics, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewelry and textiles. The two countries have yet to sign a trade deal, despite months of high-level talks.
All the same, “the industry has become extremely cautious of the fact that they have to diversify as a strategy to de-risk,” Sahai said.
