Despite facing the full force of 50% additional tariff, engineering exports to the US were down just 9.4% on year in September to $ 1.45 billion as hurried shipments of key items held up, and parity in taxes with other countries in items like steel and aluminium helped.
The impact of the Section 232 tariff has been low especially on the steel and aluminium sectors. During September, exports to the US from both the sectors grew significantly, according to an analysis by the Engineering Export Promotion Council.
Section 232 tariffs are trade measures the US president can impose on imported goods if they are determined to threaten national security, as authorized by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. These tariffs cover a wide range of products, primarily steel and aluminum, including derivatives and manufactured goods like wind turbines, cranes, and automobiles.
Iron and steel exports to the US increased 77% on year in April-September $ 394 million while overall exports of products of iron and steel grew 9% to $ 1.55 billion. Electrical machinery exports to the US were up 15% to $ 1.56 billion in April-September while industrial machinery exports were up 9% during the period to $ 2.24 billion. Auto component exports were, however, down 5% to $ 1.11 billion during the period.
Overall in April-September engineering exports to the US have grown 8% on year in the first six months of the fiscal to $ 10.04 billion.
Engineering exports to the UAE, the second biggest market for Indian engineering goods, also registered a decline 5.3% to $636.86 million.
Notably, engineering goods exports to China recorded a 14.4% year-on-year rise to $ 302.21 million in September 2025.
Overall, engineering goods exports grew 2.93% year-on-year in September 2025 to $10.11 billion. For April-September the engineering exports were up 5.35% to $ 59.36 billion.
Growth in September was basically attributed to growth in shipment of lead and products of lead, motor vehicles/cars, two and three wheelers, iron and steel, and electric machinery among others. Region wise, decent growth in exports to ASEAN, North-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South Asia helped engineering exports to improve over the year.
The share of engineering in total merchandise exports was recorded at 27.8% in September 2025 while it was recorded at around 27 % on a cumulative basis during April-September.