India’s trade deficit expands to $21.54 billion 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.

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.

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.

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