India's trade deficit widens to $21.54 bn in March

India's trade deficit widened sharply to $21.54 billion in March, up from a three-year low of $14.05 billion in February, as global trade takes its own twists and turns with Trump's tariff threats.

India's merchandise exports in FY25 stood at $437.42 bn as against $437.07 bn in FY24. The country's overall exports of goods and services increased by 5.5 per cent to $820.93 billion.

Economists had expected the March trade deficit to rise to $16 billion, according to a Reuters poll.


Merchandise exports stood at $41.97 billion in March against $36.91 billion in February, while imports were lower at $64.51 billion compared with $50.96 billion in the month prior.

In March 2025, the total export, which combines merchandise and services, increased to $73.61 billion, up from $71.71 billion in March 2023. However, the data shows a sharper increase on the import front, with overall imports climbing to $77.23 billion from $73.63 billion a year ago.

The data comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has upended the globe with his widening tariff policy. India is trying to strike a bilateral trade pact with the U.S. to avoid the wrath of its reciprocal tariff in the 90-day window that the tariffs have been paused.

Talking about the trade data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal noted that the country has seen its highest-ever export of non-petroleum merchandise.

He informed that non-petroleum exports are at the highest level at $37.07 billion, a growth of 6 per cent compared to $36.28 billion in 2023-24.

"Our overall exports will be the highest ever, and they have crossed a threshold of $820 billion. We will be waiting for the final figures of services, but our internal assessment is that it will go even above by two more billion dollars. So it should be a figure of more than $842 billion," Barthwal said.

Last year, it was $770 billion, indicating an increase of more than $42 billion, which he described as a 'significant achievement.'

Additionally, Barthwal highlighted concerns regarding potential merchandise dumping into India due to reciprocal tariffs amid ongoing trade tensions.

"Rising US costs may prompt exporters from countries like China, Vietnam, and Indonesia—all facing US trade deficits—to divert goods to India, potentially triggering an import surge of products at risk of being dumped in India," he said.

In light of US tariffs, Barthwal mentioned that an Inter-Ministerial Committee for import surge monitoring has been established with representation from the Department of Commerce, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, CBIC, and DPIIT.

He further added that this committee is monitoring import trends on a weekly and monthly basis, categorized by commodities and countries.