Exporters in India have pushed goods worth over $10 billion to the US last month alone, in a bid to beat the reciprocal tariffs which were expected to come into effect on April 2, an Indian Express report stated citing data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry. This, it added, was 35 per cent more than exports recorded during March last year.
Earlier on April 9, US President Donald Trump had announced a 90-day pause on the rollout of reciprocal tariffs on most countries including India. However, Trump simultaneously raised tariffs on China to 145 per cent. Even with this pause, exporters across countries scrambled last month to accelerate shipments before the duties kicked in. Apple, for instance, flew several last-minute consignments of iPhones to the US before the tariffs were due to take effect.
Per the data released by the ministry, India’s exports to the US in March stood at $10.14 billion, up 35.06 per cent from $7.51 billion in March 2024. For the full financial year (April 2024 to March 2025), exports to the US came in at $86.51 billion, reporting a growth of 11.59 per cent as compared to $77.52 billion during the same period in the previous year.
Meanwhile, goods imports from the US also went up to $3.70 billion in March 2025 which is 9.63 per cent higher than in March 2024. Over the same financial year, imports rose by 7.44 per cent to $45.53 billion, compared to $42.13 billion in 2023–24.
The data released by the ministry also showed that India’s total goods and services exports in 2024–25 reached a record $820.93 billion, which was 5.50 per cent higher as compared to $778.13 billion in the previous financial year. Services exports, meanwhile, went up by 12.45 per cent to $383.51 billion, while goods exports saw marginal growth of 0.08 per cent, reaching $437.42 billion.
Reacting on India’s cumulative merchandise exports registered a YoY growth of 0.8 per cent, increasing from $437.07 billion during FY 2023-24 to $437.42 billion during FY 2024-25, Hemant Jain, President, PHDCCI, said, “This resilient growth is driven by double-digit growth in exports of products like coffee, pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, marine products and jute products, among others.”
“Given the significant initiatives undertaken by the government including the announcement of the Export Promotion Mission in the Budget 2025-26, diversification of export destinations and actively negotiating free trade agreements, we expect continued momentum in exports trajectory,” he added.
India and the US are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement which is aimed at more than doubling trade from the current $191 billion to $500 billion by 2030.