India’s exports to the US rebounded in November, driven by supply chain changes and pre-holiday restocking after two months of decline, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). Despite the US imposing a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods since August, the recovery came.
GTRI said the recovery followed a significant decline in exports earlier this year, due to the uncertainty surrounding upcoming tariff hikes. GTRI founder Ajay Srisvastav said US buyers initially delayed orders and ran down inventories. “Once the higher tariffs became certain, exporters and US buyers began adjusting, absorbing part of the cost, renegotiating prices, and shifting towards less attached or hard to substitute products”, he added.
According to the GTRI report, the decrease-and-recovery pattern is visible in 85 per cent of India’s November exports across most product categories. These categories include electronics, gems and jewellery, machinery, vehicles, auto components, pharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, carpets, minerals, fuels, organic chemicals, plastic, rubber articles, fish, dairy products, and edible fruits and nuts.
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However, they expect that this rebound might not last long. They stated that it was more about changes to the difficult tariff than a sustainable improvement. Additionally, they noted that businesses were using short-term strategies to adapt to the new trade environment.
