India expanding export outreach to 50 countries to negate US tariff hit

India is expanding its export outreach to 50 countries, including in West Asia and Africa, to reduce reliance on any single market and mitigate the risks of trade disruptions, amid the steep 50% tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump.

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN, OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

These 50 countries account for about 90% of India's exports. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working product by product to improve India's exports competitiveness, officials said.

"The idea is to tap the top 50 countries and look at each product and the competitors. India must mitigate risks to improve manufacturing and export competitiveness," said an official.

This exercise to explore alternative markets is being done with export promotion bodies and is crucial as India's merchandise exports in June were at $35.14 billion.