Smartphone Exports To US Plunge 58% In 3 Months: GTRI

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Sep 23 (KNN) India's smartphone exports to the United States, its largest market, have fallen sharply by 58 percent over three months, according to data released on Monday by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

Exports dropped from USD 2.29 billion in May 2025 to USD 964.8 million in August, declining steadily month by month-USD 2 billion in June and USD 1.52 billion in July.

GTRI described the development as alarming and counter-intuitive, noting that smartphones face no tariffs in the US.

“This demands urgent investigation to uncover the real reasons that are driving the fall,” the think tank said, according to PTI.

In FY2025, the US remained India's top destination for smartphones, accounting for imports worth USD 10.6 billion, or 44 percent of India's global smartphone exports of USD 24.1 billion. The European Union ranked second at USD 7.1 billion, or 29.5 percent.

GTRI also flagged declines across several other export categories.

Tariff-free products, which made up 28.5 percent of India's exports to the US in August, fell 41.9 percent between May and August, from USD 3.37 billion to USD 1.96 billion.

Pharmaceutical shipments declined 13.3 percent to USD 646.6 million, while jewellery exports dropped 9.1 percent to USD 228.2 million.

Seafood exports fell 43.8 percent to USD 162.7 million, textiles and garments slipped 9.3 percent to USD 855.5 million, and chemical exports contracted 15.9 percent to USD 451.9 million.

GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said India's exports to the US have now declined for three consecutive months, attributing much of the weakness to rising American tariffs on Indian goods.

"August data only partly reflects the impact of higher tariffs - India paid 10 percent tariffs until August 6, 25 percent until August 27, and 50 percent only after August 28. September will be the first full month when the declines in textiles, gems and jewellery, shrimp, chemicals, and solar panels could deepen further," Srivastava said.

“What is more worrying,” Srivastava added,“is the unexpected crash in tariff-free exports like smartphones and pharmaceuticals, threatening to derail India's flagship PLI success story. Policymakers and industry must urgently probe the causes and act before this slide deepens.”

(KNN Bureau)

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