India’s exports to the US declined 12.88 per cent year-on-year to $6.88 billion in February, weighed down by high tariffs, while the country’s trade deficit with China widened past $100 billion during the April-February period of the current fiscal, according to commerce ministry data released on Monday.
Exports had contracted in September, October, December and January, although they registered a 22.61 per cent rise in November. Indian goods were attracting sweeping 50 per cent levies in the US.
After the US Supreme Court struck down the Trump tariffs, however, US President Donald Trump imposed a 10 per cent duty on all countries from February 24 for 150 days. The impact of the lower tariffs is expected to be reflected in March trade data to be released in mid-May.
Imports from the US rose 36.53 per cent to $4.48 billion in February. During the April-February period, India’s exports to the US increased 3.84 per cent to $79.29 billion, while imports climbed 15.65 per cent to $48.4 billion.
Trade with China remained sharply imbalanced. India’s exports to China rose 32.37 per cent to $1.67 billion in February, while imports surged 30.49 per cent to $11.95 billion. For the first 11 months of the fiscal year, exports to China increased 37.66 per cent to $17.54 billion, whereas imports rose 15.21 per cent to $119.55 billion, pushing the trade deficit to $102.01 billion.
Exports recorded growth to markets such as Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Nepal, France, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia and Vietnam during February. However, shipments to the UK, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Australia and South Africa declined.
On the import side, shipments fell from the UAE, Russia, Germany, Thailand and Qatar, but increased from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Indonesia. Imports from Switzerland-- largely gold-- surged nearly seven-fold to $2.71 billion during the month.
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