India-US trade agreement: decline in exports even after agreement
Despite the agreement on trade agreement between India and America, India's exports to America registered a decline of 21.77% in January, which came down to $6.6 billion. The slight increase in total exports was possible due to market diversification.
India's total exports in January increased by 0.61% to $36.56 billion, while imports increased by 19.2% to $71.24 billion. Due to sharp increase in imports, trade deficit increased to 34.68 billion dollars.
The US had imposed 50% tariff on Indian products from August 2025, which also included an additional 25% duty. Later under the agreement the additional duty was removed and the reciprocal tariff was reduced to 18%, providing relief to Indian exporters.
India's exports to the US grew by 5.85% to $72.46 billion in the April-January period, while imports increased by 13.87% to $43.92 billion. However, a decline was also seen in some months.
Amidst the weakness in the US market, India turned towards China and other countries. There was a sharp increase in exports to China, but imports also remained high, due to which the trade deficit remained. Experts believe that market diversification can improve the situation in future.
