When US closed its doors, Indian businessmen found new avenues, see shocking figures:

In the business world it is said that if one door closes, another opens. Something similar is happening with Indian exporters these days. In August 2025, America had imposed a huge tariff of 50% on Indian goods. Obviously, the aim was to hurt India’s trade. But, new figures are showing that Indian businessmen did not give up. Instead of relying on America, they have started selling their goods in the markets of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

The situation is definitely difficult, but the way India has made a comeback is interesting.

Jewellery: While America turned its back, Dubai extended its arms

The biggest example is our gems and jewelery sector. There was a huge decline of 76% in the jewelry sent to America in the month of September. But did our total trade come to a standstill? No! There was a slight decline of only 1.5% in total exports.

The magic that happened was that our traders diverted their shipments. The goods that were supposed to go to America were sent to UAE (79% more), Hong Kong and Belgium. That means the loss was compensated immediately.

‘Balle-Balle’ in auto and fish market

Same thing happened with auto components. While America reduced purchasing, India sold goods to Germany, Thailand and UAE. Result—instead of decreasing, total exports increased by 8%.

On the other hand, America used to be the largest customer for ‘Marine Products’ i.e. sea products (like lobster). When 50% tax was imposed there, demand reduced, but China, Japan, Russia and Vietnam immediately took Indian shrimp. Shrimp exports to China and Vietnam have increased by 24% to 123% between April and October 2025. This is called smart business!

These sectors have suffered a major blow

However, not everyone has been so lucky. There are some sectors where we were very dependent on America and have not been able to find a new market there yet.

• Sports Goods: 40% of India’s sports goods (like bats, balls, etc.) went to America. This export fell by 6% in October due to falling demand there.
• Clothes and shoes: The condition of cotton garments and leather shoes is also a bit bad. Big orders are not being received from America and consumption in Europe or Arab countries is not happening as much as required. Therefore, a decline of 10% was seen in leather footwear exports.

GDP gave relief news

Amidst all this, the good news is that the economy within the country is strong. Despite all the difficulties, India’s GDP growth rate in the second quarter (Q2) was 8.2%, which is the fastest in the last 6 quarters. Although trade deficit has increased due to increase in gold imports, GDP figures show that the engine is still running at full speed.

Overall, America’s strictness has certainly troubled Indian exporters, but they have shown that they are adept at finding new avenues.