India’s cumulative exports grew 4.84% in April-October to $491.8 billion, despite tariff-fuelled uncertainties

India’s cumulative exports have grown 4.84% year-on-year to $491.8 billion, despite India being under the hammer of punitive tariffs from the U.S., according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday.

Interestingly, the U.S. has become one of the top five destinations for export, in terms of change in value, posting positive growth in April-October 2025 vis-à-vis April-October 2024, rising 10.15%. The other destinations include the People’s Republic of China (24.77%), the United Arab Emirates (5.88%), Spain (40.74%), and Hong Kong (20.7%).

The total cumulative imports, on the other hand, grew 5.74% to $569.95 billion. In October, total exports registered a slight year-on-year decline of 0.68% to $72.89 billion. Imports, on the other hand, have grown 14.87% to $94.70 billion.

Merchandise, a sector that has borne the brunt of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, registered a decline to $34.38 billion, compared with $38.98 billion in October of last year. In the April-October period, merchandise exports grew slightly to $254.25 billion, compared with $252.66 billion during April-October 2024.

Merchandise imports, meanwhile, totalled $451.08 billion during April-October, compared to $424.06 billion during April-October 2024. The resulting merchandise trade deficit during April-October was consequently $196.82 billion, compared to $171.40 billion during April-October of last year.

Services was another sector affected by Trump’s decision to implement a manifold increase in the H-1B visa fee. According to the ministry, the estimated value of services export for October is $38.52 billion, as compared to $34.41 billion in October 2024. The estimated value of services imports for October is $18.64 billion, as compared to $17.23 billion in October 2024. The resulting services trade surplus for April-October was $118.68 billion, as compared to $101.49 billion in April-October of last year. Services exports are estimated to grow by 9.75% during April-October over April-October of last year.

The top five import sources, in terms of change in value, exhibiting growth in April-October 2025 vis-à-vis April-October 2024 are People’s Republic of China (11.88%), United Arab Emirates (13.43%), Hong Kong (31.38%), Ireland (169.44%) and the U.S. (9.73%).

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said tariffs on India will be reduced soon, and the much-touted trade deal between India and the U.S. is on the anvil. Trump made these remarks during the swearing-in ceremony of Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India and special envoy to Central and South Asia.