According to think tank GTRI, September saw the sharpest monthly decline of 2025 – down almost 18% from August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline. | Photo credit:
Indian merchandise exports to the US fell 11.93 percent to $5.46 billion in September due to high tariffs imposed by Washington, while imports rose 11.78 percent to $3.98 billion during the month, according to commerce ministry data.
During April-September this fiscal, the country’s exports to the US rose 13.37 percent to $45.82 billion, while imports rose 9 percent to $25.6 billion, the data showed.
The US has imposed sweeping 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods entering US markets from August 27. The two countries are negotiating a bilateral trade deal to boost mutual trade. The Indian team is in Washington for the trade talks.
According to think tank GTRI, shipments to the United States fell 17.9 percent in September from $6.87 billion in August, the sharpest monthly decline of 2025 and the fourth straight decline.
“September was also the first full month in which Indian goods faced Washington’s 50 percent tariff on most products,” said GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava. Exports to the US have been declining on a monthly basis since June 2025. In May, exports rose 4.8 percent to $8.8 billion, marking the last month of growth before tariffs came into effect.
He added that between May and September, Indian exports to the US fell by almost 37.5 percent, wiping out more than $3.3 billion in monthly shipment value.
“The data confirms that the US has become India’s worst-hit market since the tariff escalation began, with sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods and chemicals suffering the heaviest losses,” Srivastava said.
India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement.
China, another major trading partner of India, saw exports from India rise 34.18 percent to $1.46 billion in September and 21.96 percent to $8.41 billion in the April-September 2025-26 period.
Imports from the neighboring country rose 16.35 percent to $11.31 billion in September, while shipments rose 11.25 percent to $62.88 billion during the first half of this fiscal.
UAE, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil and Italy were also among the countries where exports from India grew positively during the month under review.
However, exports to the Netherlands, Singapore and France fell in September.
On the import front, inbound shipments declined in September from countries such as Russia, Korea, Australia, Vietnam, Germany and Taiwan.
However, imports increased from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Britain and Thailand.
Published on October 16, 2025
#Indian #exports #fell #September #tariffs #tightened #China #UAE #gains