October 16, 2025

Hold on tight! India’s exports to the US took a big hit in September, plunging by 20% in just one month, and nearly 40% over the last four months. The big villain here? Washington’s harsh 50% tariffs that started on August 27, including a 25% punishment because India kept buying oil from Russia. According to Ajay Srivastava from Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), “US has become India’s most severely affected market since the tariff escalation began.” The hardest-hit industries are labour-heavy businesses like textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and chemicals. Shipments to the US have tumbled from $8.8 billion in May to just $5.5 billion in September — a staggering 37.5% drop over four months! This big fall also pushed India’s trade deficit up to a 13-month high of $32.15 billion in September, showing the pressure India faces. However, not all is gloomy. India’s exports to other countries like the UAE and China have improved, softening the blow a little. Meanwhile, intense trade talks are underway. An Indian delegation is in the US trying to fix these issues. On the political stage, Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, a key demand of the US to apply economic pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war. The Indian foreign ministry said discussions were "ongoing" and acknowledged US interest in deepening energy cooperation. Yet, tough challenges remain. The biggest headache is US demands to open up India's agriculture and dairy sectors—fields that India fiercely protects to defend its farmers’ rights and food security. For years, the US has wanted access to these huge markets, but India is standing firm. Despite recent troubles, India-US trade was massive, reaching $190 billion in 2024. Modi and Trump had set a bold goal to more than double that to $500 billion. Now, everyone waits to see if the ongoing talks can break the deadlock and revive this crucial partnership!

Read More at News →

Tags: India-us trade, Tariffs, Exports decline, Textiles, Russian oil, Trade talks,