"Drop In Exports Of Goods With Sectoral Tariffs And No Tariffs Show Weakness In US Market", 9 November 2025

India’s merchandise exports to the US fell 28.5 per cent in the past five months. While the tariff-hit labour intensive sectors saw a decline of 31 per cent, exports facing uniform sectoral tariffs and those with no tariffs also saw drop in shipments, indicating a slowing US economy...

The steepest decline occurred in labour intensive products where India alone faced 50 per cent tariffs. These goods, which represented 52.1 per cent of October exports, collapsed 31.2 per cent...finds GTRI.

Gems and jewellery exports fell 27.3 per cent... Solar panel shipments tumbled 75.7 per cent...Textiles and garment exports fell 31.9 per cent...of which garments plunged 40.6 per cent. Chemical exports tumbled 38 per cent...

Seafood exports sank 38.7 per cent as US shrimp buyers shifted from India to Ecuador and Vietnam, draining jobs from India’s coastal processing hubs. Agricultural exports plunged 45.4 per cent, with dairy exports crashing 72 per cent and cocoa exports witnessing nil shipments.

However, products facing uniform sectoral tariffs like iron, steel, aluminum, and auto parts, which formed just 7.6 per cent of shipments in October, also witnessed decline in shipments. Exports in this category fell by 23.8 per cent..

Even tariff-exempt items such as smartphones, pharmaceuticals and petroleum products, which accounted for 40.3 per cent of October exports, fell 25.8 per cent...

This reflects an underlying weakness in the US market....