New Delhi - Not withstanding India’s efforts to diversify its merchandise exports, the country’s dependence on the US for its outbound shipments has increased over the past 12 years by 7 percentage points to touch 17.4 per cent share in 2022-23 (FY23).

In contrast, the share of the US in India’s total exports has continuously declined from a high of 21.7 per cent in 1998-99 to a low of 10.1 per cent in 2010-11, reveals India’s Department of Commerce data. During the pandemic years of 2020-21 and 2021-22, the export share of the US was even higher than the FY23 levels.

In its vision statement released during the mid-term review of the 2015-2020 foreign trade policy in 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said the policy of market diversification that has stood India in good stead during the global economic downturn will continue to be a key determinant of the country’s trade policy, together with product diversification.