Tariffs batter India's exports to US; GTRI suggests rolling out

India's exports to its largest export market, the United States, have suffered a sharp reversal under the impact of aggressive tariff hikes. Between May and October 2025, shipments fell 28.5 per cent, plunging from USD 8.83 billion to USD 6.31 billion, according to trade-focused think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

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The decline in exports followed a rapid escalation in US duties that began at 10 per cent on April 2, rose to 25 per cent on August 7, and reached 50 per cent by late August.

The spike in tariffs made Indian goods among the most heavily taxed of any US trading partner, according to a GTRI report Saturday.

For comparison, China faced tariffs of about 30 per cent, while Japan at 15 per cent.

India’s exports to the US during the period has been divided into three tariff regimes in the GTRI report -- Tariff-exempt items such as smartphones, pharmaceuticals and petroleum products accounted for 40.3 per cent of October exports but still fell 25.8 per cent, from USD 3.42 billion in May to USD 2.54 billion in October--a contraction of USD 881 million.